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PULPIT SKETCHES. 



BY REV. JOHN NEWLAND MAFFITT, 

OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 



FI 



RST SERIES, 



LOUISVILLE, KY.: 

W.HARRISON JOHNSTON, MAIN STREET. 

18 39. 










^-5-^^ 



COPY-RIGHT SECURED. 



PREFACE. 



If any writings may plead exemption from 
the frost of criticism, they are those which seek 
a shelter under the altar. When men, whose 
business is literature and supreme object fame, 
take up the pen, the critical world have a 
right to arraign their pretensions, weigh their 
claims, and sit in solemn judgment upon 
their productions. Yet let the humble writer, 
whose design is to reanimate the latent fires of 
devotion, and turn the earth born thoughts 
heavenward, be spared the rigors of a tribu- 



IV 

nal which, unlike the posthumous inquest of 
Egypt, decides the fate of the living as well 
as the dead. The minister, who cultivates 
a sincere desire to benefit his fellow men to 
the extent of his voice and pen in the brief 
period of his existence, should never feel the 
dread of a literary inquisition, damping his 
zeal, or abating his energy. To a higher tri- 
bunal than that of letters is he amenable; at 
which it may appear that the boding cry and 
the raven wing of criticism have induced 
many to bury in inglorious sloth the talents 
committed to their improvement. 

It is not expected that the pulpit sketches 
of one whose head does not yet bear the 
snows of time, will be prominent sources of in- 
struction and pleasure to age and experience ; 
yet mature «years, it is hoped, will find noth- 
ing repulsive to wisdom or the clear views of 
advanced life in thoughts chiefly drawn from 
the ancient oracles of God. But the improve- 
ment of the young, the blooming pride and 
future hope of our beloved country, was not 



unconnected with the design of these sketch- 
es. There is a season in life when the 
thoughts are indisposed to encounter the deep 
things of theology: a syllogism fails to be com- 
prehended, and a subtle deduction is a weari- 
ness to the elastic spirit — yet the eye will 
rest pleasantly on the lighter lessons of divi- 
nity, and the mind will rove with a degree of 
satisfaction through the green, flowering fields 
of holy literature, or along the side of "still 
waters." 

It is possible there may be a chasm in the 
theological writings of the present day, of the 
more engaging class of moral and devotional 
compositions, which these sketches are des- 
tined to fill. There is enough of argument in 
the church, and the "sacramental host" is en- 
veloped in the dust of a thousand champions 
in polemics; the boundary lines of denomina- 
tion are explored and rectified with unerring 
science, and "Greek meets Greek" on the neu- 
tral ground ; the church scarcely can desire a 
greater deluge of religious intelligence than 
1 



VI 



that which rolls, at the present moment, to 
her extreme borders; yet the questions arise 
with unusual emphasis — Does the voice of 
consolation sufficiently mingle with, and tem- 
per, the thunder of warfare and the majestic 
movements of the age? Does the sound of 
the summonings, the trumpetings and the rou- 
sing up of this last great crusade, intermit to 
the music of the christian charities and the 
home virtues.? 

To furnish a token of friendship, a gift of 
affection, a book of devotional sketches for 
the vestry and the social evening meeting — 
to extend and perpetuate his ministerial la- 
bors in the Church — have been the author's 
motives that gave birth to this book ; and it is 
fearlessly as well as affectionately committed 
to the keeping of those who know how to 
make deductions for the imperfections of any 
human production. 

Not unmindful of that day, when every 
work shall be subject to the investigations and 



Vll 

decisions of eternity, the author dedicates 
this book to the cause of piety ; and he would 
place it near the holy altar of that church 
whose walls are salvation, and whose gates 
praise. 

Louisville, 1839. 



CONTENTS. 



PULPIT SKETCHES. 

Page. 

Isaiah, v. 4, 5. — What could have been done more 

to my vineyard, &c. - - - 13 

The Vine, 14 

The goodness of the soil in which it 

was planted, ... 15 

Its weakness, - - 16 

The care taken of it, - - 18 

Its unfruitfulness, - 19 

Its destruction, ... 20 

Our forefathers like those of the Jews 

were pious, ... - 23 

Is not our vineyard fruitful, - - 24 
Are we not peculiarly favored of the 

Lord, - • - - 25 



Page. 
Yet in ourselves we are weak, - - 27 

Acts, xiii. 41. — Behold, ye despisers, and wonder and 
perish: for I work a work in your days, 
a work which ye shall in no wise be- 
lieve, though a man declare it unto you, 33 

Peace on earth, good will toman, - .45 

Their dispositions of heart towards God 

and Christ, ... . 48 

Their attention to the Ordinances, 50 

Their temper and conduct in Society, 51 

Their personal virtues, 52 

Their sufferings for Christ's sake, - 53 

1 Tim. i. 15. — Christ Jesus came into the world to save 

sinners, ... - 63 

Exodus, xxiii. 20. — Behold, I send an angel before thee, 
to keep thee in the way, and to bring 
thee into the place which I have pre- 
pared, - - 77 

John v. 39. — Search the Scriptures, ... 93 

The Holy Scriptures, - - 94 

The Scriptures should be searched, 99 

Hebrews xi, 24, 25. — By faith Moses, when he was come 
to years, refused to be called the son of 
Pharaoh's daughter, fyc. - - 107 

Moses, - - - 108 

His choice, - - 112 

What influenced his choice, - 114 

Psalm xxvi. 8. — Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy 
house, and the place where thine honor 
dwelleth, - - - - 121 

The Judgment Day, - - - - - 141 

The Day of Judgment, - - 142 

A trembling world is placed at the bar, 146 



XI 

Page. 
Ezekiel, xxxvii. 4. — ye dry bones, hear ye the word 

of the Lord, , 155 

The characters to whom he is sent to 

prophecy, ... - 159 

The subject matter of his prophecy, 162 

Daniel, iv. 13, 14. — I saw in the visions of my head 
upon my bed, and, behold, a watcher 
and an holy one came down from hea- 
ven, &c. - - - 167 



Isaiah, v. 4, 5. 

What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have 
not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring 
forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? And now go to; I 
will tell you what I will do to my vineyard; I will take away 
the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down 
the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down. 

The prophet Isaiah struck the solemn harp 
of prophecy with a masters hand. His mind 
was of such a sublime and tuneful mould, that 
had he lived in Greece, he would have been its 
Homer; or, in a later age, the Milton of classic 
England. The Spirit of the Highest had in- 
deed baptized him with the waters that flow 
"fast by the throne of God,** and given him 
power to lift the misty coverings from futurity — - 
to hold communion with events and circum- 
stances that were to be developed to mankind 
in some dark periods of the coming eternity ; 
yet native genius had set the impress of immor- 
tality upon the original structure of his mind, 
and placed in his hands the elements of moral 

2 



14 

power. Language trembled under the weight 
of his glowing thoughts ; the figures of rheto- 
rical art were exhausted ; the scenery of nature, 
from the mountain's top, the throne of the 
clouds, to the deep valley and the deeper world 
of waters, furnished his bold and impetuous 
imagery. 

In the chapter from which the text is select- 
ed, the state of the Jewish nation is represented 
under the type of a vineyard : 

Under the figure of a vine is represented the 
Jewish nation itself: 

Under that of soil, the country promised them 
by Jehovah: 

By the natural weakness of the vine, is repre- 
sented their need of a helper: •* 

By the care taken of it, the unbounded good- 
ness of God : 

By the unfruitfulness of this vine, the impious 
ingratitude of that people: 

And under the type of laying waste the vine- 
yard, the signal punishment in store for their 
aggravated transgressions. 

THE VINE. 

It was a goodly vine, planted by the hand of 
God. It was written, thou hast brought a vine 
out of Egypt; thou hast cast out the heathen 
and planted it ; thou hast caused it to take deep 
root and it filled the land: the hills were cover- 



15 

ed with its shadow, and the boughs thereof were 
like goodly cedars. 

God chose his servant Abraham, to be the 
progenitor of the people represented by this 
beautiful allegory. He had commanded him 
to leave his native country, and to journey to a 
strange land, and in obedience to the voice of 
God, he set out without wavering, not knowing 
whither he was going. He was tried in the 
tenderest point, by being commanded to sacri- 
fice the life of an only son — an only child, and 
he proved faithful. God made a covenant with 
him, and promised, that his seed should inherit 
the land where he was a stranger, even the land 
of Canaan, for an everlasting possession: and 
that through him, all the nations of the earth 
should be blessed. 

THE GOODNESS OF THE SOIL IN WHICH IT WAS 
PLANTED. 

m 

This has a direct and particular reference to 
the land of Canaan, which was one of the most 
fertile countries in the world. It was so beauti- 
ful and so productive, that it was emphatically 
styled the vineyard of the Lord, the garden of 
the world, a good land and large, a land flow- 
ing with milk and honey. It was a country 
rich in corn, wine, and oil, covered with trees, 
plants, fruits, and flowers in the greatest profu- 
sion. The whole face of the country was diver- 
sified with a multitude of valleys, and hills, and 



16 

mountains; adorned with the most beautiful 
landscapes, and teeming with the riches, both 
of nature and of art 

Its skies were clear and serene. Its hills 
were full of fountains, whence issued myriads 
of crystal rivulets and streams, meandering 
through the verdant vales and pleasant mea- 
dows below: and the glassy bosoms of its placid 
pools reflected the azure canopy of the ethereal 
vault. Universal joy and gladness filled the 
land. Songs and hallelujahs and the thrilling 
music, like that of Miriam's martial timbrel, 
swept up to heaven's blue arch. 

Envious enemies soon perceived that God 
was with them, and were constrained, like Ba- 
laam, to exclaim, How goodly are thy tents, O 
Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel! As the 
valleys, are they spread forth, as gardens by the 
river's side, as the trees of lign aloes, which the 
Lord hath planted, and as cedar trees beside 
the waters. Thus while they stood aloof and 
beheld the security and grandeur which, like a 
broad belt of living gold, encircled Israel, they 
wondered, they hated, but dared not molest. 

ITS WEAKNESS. 

The goodness of the vine, and the soil in 
which it was planted, could not protect it against 
the winds of heaven, or the ravages of the inva- 
der. The vine is a tender plant and easily in- 
jured. Its branches are so feeble that they need 



17 

supporting, and require many pains and 
much labor to preserve them in life and 
vigor. 

This was applicable to the Israelites. 
When they came out of Egypt, they had no 
civil constitution, no laws, no government. 
They had been debased by long captivity, 
and thus rendered incapable of any heroic 
act, unless stimulated by some powerful mo- 
tive. And such was their inconstancy, that 
at the slightest misfortune they looked back 
with unconquerable desires to the land where 
they had groaned so long under the lash of 
despotism. And even after they had been 
trained up for empire, and were put in pos- 
session of the promised Canaan, they were 
as much under the necessity of divine pro- 
tection as when they were wandering in the 
wilderness. 

Did they attempt any important move- 
men!, in their own strength? They uniform- 
ly failed. Did they commence a war? 
They were certainly defeated. Did they 
make a boast of their strength, and glory in 
the prowess of their warlike deeds? A sud- 
den and unexpected stroke from an unseen 
hand withering their laurels, was the inevita- 
ble consequence of their pride and presump- 
tion. For, saith the Lord, I will not give my 
glory to another, nor my praise to graven ima- 
ges. All their self-dependent schemes met 
2* 



18 

the fate they deserved, they were broken in 
pieces. But when they went forward in the 
name and in the strength of the God of the 
armies of Israel, success and victory ever at- 
tended them. 

THE CARE TAKEN OF IT. 

In order that this vine might grow and flou- 
rish and bring forth good fruit, the most care- 
ful and unremitted attention was paid to it 
by the servants of God, spoken of as the 
dressers of the vineyard. They dug about 
its roots, and pruned its branches, rising up 
early and lying down late. What could have 
been done more, saith the master of the vine- 
yard, for my vineyard that I have not done 
in it. 

The civil constitution of the Jews was of 
divine origin, and their religious institutions 
well calculated to retain in their breasts 
grateful remembrances of their Almighty be- 
nefactor. Their deliverance from Egyptian 
bondage — from the host of Pharaoh — the 
waters of the Red Sea, and from the dangers 
of the dreary desert, were continually 
brought to their view. Their children were 
early taught the history of their deliveran- 
ces. The book of the law, ending with aw- 
ful threatenings and gracious promises, was 
daily read in the hearing of the People. 

Extraordinary means were used to preserve 



19 

this people in the pure exercise of their re* 
ligion and laws. Holy prophets, divinely 
commissioned, were raisea from time to time 
to arrest their attention and ring an alarm in 
their ears. Signal displays of the power and 
justice of the Almighty were made to pass 
frequently before their eyes. — They had line 
upon line, and precept upon precept. He 
showed his word unto Jacob, his statutes and 
his judgments unto Israel. He hath not so 
dealt with any people. 

ITS UNFRUITFULNESS. 

This vine was a wholesome one. It was 
planted in a fertile soil, and the most unre- 
mitting care and attention were bestowed 
upon it; yet this very vine, under all these 
advantages, proved unfruitful. 

How applicable was this, to the children 
of Israel. Although their fathers were the fa- 
vorites of heaven, although they were placed 
in the most eligible circumstances for di- 
vine culture, possessing advantages rarely be- 
stowed upon mortals, they were a proud, 
wicked and perverse generation. — Notwith- 
standing the mighty efforts that had been 
made to instill into their minds the purest 
principles, and to preserve them a distinct 
people, free from the prejudices, ignorance 
and superstition of the heathen world, they 
became strange plants of a degenerate vine, 



20 

either producing no fruit, or bringing forth 
sour grapes, which, when pressed, made drunk 
the nations around them. 

In process of time, they descended from the 
lofty eminence they had held for ages, and 
after exhibiting, at various times, the most de- 
testable features of moral depravity, they 
at length, gave themselves up, wholly to their 
lusts, and losing all sense of shame, sunk into 
the grossest idolatry and rebellion, rendering 
themselves worthy of the most condign pun- 
ishment. In addition to all this, they filled to 
the brim the measure of their iniquities, by 
despising and rejecting their Messiah, and 
scourging and crucifying the Son of God. 

ITS DESTRUCTION. 

1 will take away the hedge thereof, and it 
shall be eaten up : I will break down the wall 
thereof, and it shall be trodden down, saith 
the Lord. 

It is easy to conceive, how the wild beasts 
of the forest will desolate a vineyard, when 
its fences are thrown down and removed. 
Here, under the figure of laying waste a vine- 
yard, God condescends to lay before his peo- 
ple, the inevitable consequences of persisting 
in their sin, and to warn them against it. 

This solemn threatening was awfully real- 
ized by the Jews. The spirit of the Lord 
having been so long grieved and insulted, now 



21 

takes his everlasting flight from them. They 
are left naked and exposed to the 

M Tremendous threatening! black as night it stands 
Fierce as ten furies, terrible as hell, 
And shakes a fearful dart," 

even the dart of divine indignation over a 
guilty land. The blood of the holy prophets 
is found in their garments. They had im- 
precated the blood of the Lord of life and 
glory upon their devoted heads. The day 
of their visitation having expired, the de- 
stroying Angel was now commissioned to go 
forth and slay them in all their cities. A 
dreadful, a blind infatuation seized them, 
God made their attachment to their formal, 
heartless ceremonies, a mean of their final 
overthrow. While they were engaged in the 
celebration of the passover, they would do 
nothing in defence of their city. Titus took 
this occasion to enter Jerusalem with his le- 
gions, fired the temple, destroyed the city 
and spread desolation and dismay throughout 
Judea. — The few wretched Jews, who escap- 
ed the edge of the sword, were either taken 
captive by their enemies or scattered over 
the earth, to wander like the blasted Cain, 
abhorred and hated by every people. 

Their glory hath vanished like the mist 
from the mountain. The besom of destruc- 
tion hath swept away. their honors. The ob- 
livious pall hath long since covered them. 



22 

Obscurity hath spread her dark mantle upon 
the land of Palestine, and the cursed crescent 
of the Moslem waves over the crumbling 
fragments of Jewish grandeur. 

M Weep for the harp of Judah's broken shell ; 

Mourn — where their God hath dwelt, the godless dwell. 
Tribes of the wandering foot and weary breast, 
How shall ye flee away and be at rest ! 
The wild dove hath her nest, the fox his cave, 
Mankind their country — Israel but the grave J M 

And why is this? Because notwithstand- 
ing all that had been done for this peculiar 
people, they would neither love, nor obey, nor 
worship God according to his requirements. 
Thus Jerusalem, fallen from her once exalted 
station, and weltering in the blood of her chil- 
dren, raises her warning voice to all succeed- 
ing nations. She speaks from the records of 
her fathers; from the broken tribes of her 
wandering sons. 

And not her voice alone proclaims the 
emptiness of human glory, the catastrophe of 
human wickedness. Other kingdoms have 
been broken ; other cities have been buried ; 
other nations have been extirpated. Where 
are Troy, Babylon, Athens, Thebes, Persepo- 
lis, and Palmyra? Their ruins are sepulchred 
with the ashes of their founders. 

44 Ah ! then in desolation cold 
The desert serpent dwells alone, 
Where grass o'ergrows each mouldering stone, 
And stones themselves to ruin grown, 
Are grey and deathlike old." 



23 

Palmyra, the seat of proud kings, the em- 
porium of science, the envy of her neighbors, 
the wonder of the world, is no more. Her 
stately ruins may form a picture, her fame may 
point a moral, but her power and her glory 
have long passed away. Faded is her beauty, 
withered her strength, and humbled her pride. 
Her inscriptions are grown unintelligible, her 
heroes are forgotten. 

With these reflections, let us take a short 
view of our own standing as a nation. O, that 
we may be admonished to pursue that righte- 
ousness which exalteth a nation, and to 
avoid that sin which is a reproach to any 
people ! 

OUR FOREFATHERS LIKE THOSE OF THE JEWS 
WERE PIOUS. 

Those intrepid men who first planted the 
rose of Sharon in this land of strangers, and 
unfurled the banner of the cross in these 
western wilds, were disciples of Jesus — a 
band of holy pilgrims in quest of freedom, 
and the rights of conscience. They were 
exiles from their native homes; and many 
of them poor and penniless, but they were 
rich in faith and heirs of the promises. Few 
high sounding titles distinguished them from 
their fellows; but theirs was a higher dis- 
tinction than princes can confer- — their names 
were enrolled in heaven. 



24 

Guided by the good providence of God, 
they came forth from among their persecu- 
tors, traversed the wide waste of waters, 
touched upon these happy shores, and here 
planted the goodliest vineyard under heaven. 

** 'Twas then, by faith impelled, by freedom fired, 
By hope supported, and by God inspired, — 
'Twas then, the pilgrims left their fathers' graves, 
To seek a Home beyond the waste of waves; 
And where it rose, all rough and wintry, Here, 
They swelled devotion's song, and dropped devotion's tear." 

IS NOT OUR VINEYARD FRUITFUL? 

What country on earth can boast of such 
richness and variety of soil ! Here we may 
range as through an extensive garden, and 
expatiate midst flowers and fruits, the pro- 
ducts of every clime. Here too, mines are 
daily pouring forth the purest of metals, and 
quarries the richest of marble. Here are 
forests of vast extent, whose waving tops 
brush the loitering clouds. Is notthis a good- 
ly heritage, which our pious fathers have pro- 
cured for us by their courage, their industry, 
and their perseverance? A little more than 
two centuries ago, and the foot of civilized 
man had not pressed these shores: nor the 
genius of religion as yet erected her temples. 
Our rivers and our extensive lakes were un- 
frequented and silent, save when the noise of 
the Indian's paddle, broke the stillness of the 
scene; or when the savage war-whoop echo- 



25 

ed from the surrounding hills, and reverbe- 
rated along their solitary shores. But now 
these waters supply the innumerable wheels 
of the busy manufacturer, or bear on their 
bosoms, the luxuries of every clime. Now 
we behold the cattle on Columbia's thousand 
hills, or scattered over her wide extended 
plains, while plenty opens her boundless 
stores, and with a lavish hand distributes her 
richest blessings to her favored sons. 

11 stranger! stay thee, and the scene around 
Contemplate well, and if perchance thy home 
Salute thee with a father's honored name, 
Go call thy sons — instruct them what a debt 
They owe their ancestors," 

\ ARE WE NOT PECULIARLY FAVORED OF THE LORD 

Yes, my brethren, our blessings are innu- 
merable. The valor of our fathers has long 
since broken the iron yoke of European bond- 
age. Every nation of the earth regards us 
with interest, and every despot feels the in- 
security of his throne, as he contemplates our 
growingstrength, and observes the progressive 
march of our republican principles in the 
old world. Once they dared to abuse our 
Executive, our Congress and our State Le- 
gislatures. Once they dared to insult our 
public ministers, and force into their ser- 
vice our generous mariners. But now, how 
changed the scene ! They consult our 

3 



26 

wishes ; they respect our rights j they honor 
our name. 

Neither is there, now, any obstruction to 
the progress of our holy religion, among us, 
The most powerful and encouraging motives 
to a genuine conversion to God, and a holy 
life of obedience, are continually spread be- 
fore us. 

We enjoy the exalted privileges of the 
Gospel, in an eminent degree. At this mo- 
ment it is exerting a wonderful influence over 
the different relations and modifications of 
life. Its inestimable blessings are realized 
in almost every section of our blessed coun- 
try, A spirit of evangelical enterprise has 
gone out into society, prompting christians to 
the performance of the most noble deeds, 
and preparing the way for the moral revolu- 
tionof an enslaved world. 

Could superstition once obscure the light of 
divine truth? Its clouds have been long since 
dispelled, by the revival of literary and re- 
ligious knowledge. Could prejudice once 
pervert our judgment? A liberality prevails 
at the present day, unknown in former times, 
The barriers, which had long prevented a 
union, among the various sects of religion, 
are gradually giving way before the majesty 
of mind, that has broken from its leading 
strings, and, towering to its native skies, is 
row consecrated to the cause of 'Christ and 



27 

the church.' Could persecution once alarm 
our fears? We now hear no hierarchial pro- 
hibitions thundering from the papal throne. 
The faggots of bigotry have never gleamed 
upon our shores; — its martyrs never bled upon 
our sod. No inquisitorial familiars infest our 
cities, watch our private retreats and pounce 
upon our domestic retirements, like the blood 
thirsty, midnight assassin. INor do myriads 
of hellish harpies, clad in the robes of sanc- 
tity, gnaw, like the never-dying worm, upon 
our vitals. Protected by good and whole- 
some laws, we may follow the dictates of our 
consciences, and worship him alone, who is 
our Father, our Deliverer, our God! 

Truth is our shield, its beacon our guide, 
its bosom our home* and its plaudit our re- 
ward. 

YET IN OURSELVES WE ARE WEAK. 

Our nation, with her unbounded territories, 
amazing advantages, and vast resources, 
must eventually fall from her high estate, 
should she become forgetful of him in whom 
alone is everlasting strength. Our proud bul- 
warks, strong towers, and numerous fortresses 
cannot guarantee our safety, secure to us our 
national blessings, or perpetuate our sacred 
liberties, if the God of battles, the captain of 
the host of heaven, turns his arms against us 
—if he withdraws his chariots and horsemen, 



28 

and plucks up the walls of brass which he 
hath raised about us — if he inscribes upon 
our temples — the glory is departed— and 
thunders from his superb palace the dreadful 
sentence — let us go hence — they are joined 
to their idols; then the bold monarch of the 
leathered world would soon falter in his tow- 
ering flight, and descend with trembling pin- 
ions; his enemy would snatch the arrows 
from his talons, and dash to atoms the diadem 
of his glory. 

Let us now inquire, are we, as a people, 
grateful to him who led us triumphantly 
through all our oppressions, preserved our 
fathers from the tomahawk of the savage, 
made us victorious in battle, and secured a 
glorious independence for our country? 

Do we generally emulate the example of 
our pious fathers? Do we regard as we ought 
the precepts of our revered. Washington? 
Let the conscience of every man answer. 
Why is intemperance permitted to stalk 
abroad in the open face of day? Why, in 
many places, are the Sabbaths of the Lord 
profaned, his sanctuary deserted, the special 
operation of his Holy Spirit sneered at, and 
his Gospel denied, explained away, and de- 
spised? Why so much apathy, so little of 
the soul and spirit of piety in the duties and 
enjoyments of this day? Why have we yet 
so many citizens as much distinguished for 



29 

gaming and debauchery, as for talents and 
influence in society? Why is our native soil 
continually satiated with the blood of her 
sons, shed by the hand of fashionable mur- 
derers, in violation of all moral obligation? 
And why are these enormities so generally 
regarded either with indifference, or with ap- 
probation and applause. 

In view of these things, let us consider, that 
it is as true of nations as individuals, that sin, 
in its very nature, tends to temporal and eter- 
nal ruin; and that the more nations are ex- 
alted in point of privilege, the more aggrava- 
ted their sin, and the more signal will be 
their punishment. How striking the parallel 
between the Jewish nation and our own, in 
respect to origin, progress and distinguished 
privileges and blessings. God gram that the 
parallel may extend no further! 

It is perfectly obvious, from reason, scrip- 
ture and observation, that one thing, and that 
one only, can effectually stop the torrent of 
our national sin, which is wafting us, as it has 
done other nations, down into the vortex of 
destruction — and that is the prevalence of 
the pure and undefiled religion of the Lord 
Jesus Christ. This will render us invincible, 
when other resources are of no avail. The 
spirit of pure benevolence and christian zeal, 
glowing upon our altars, and breathing 
through our land, will chase the demon of de- 

3* 



30 

struction from our shores, and give health, ac- 
tivity and vigor to our constitution and laws. 
And, while the destroying angel marches in 
terror beyond the waters of the Atlantic, bow- 
ing the necks of proud monarchs, driving the 
ploughshare of ruin through their enslaved do- 
minions, and shaking the foundations of the 
eastern hemisphere, America will be seen com- 
ing up out of the wilderness, terrible as an ar- 
my with banners, travelling in the greatness of 
the strength of the Lord of Hosts, going for- 
ward in her honorable career, from conquering 
to conquer. 

It becomes us, then, as cordial christians, as 
true lovers of our country, to arouse from ow 
sloth, in the best of all causes— the cause of 
Zion. We have not a moment to lose. Our 
country is in danger; our all is at stake! Come, 
my people, saith the Lord, enter thou into thy 
chambers, and shut thy doors about thee : Hide 
thyself, as it were, for a little moment, until the 
indignation be overpast. For behold ! the Lord 
cometh out of his place to punish the inhabi- 
tants of the earth for their iniquity. 

Let us unite our fervent prayers at the 
throne of grace, for a special out-pouring of 
the Holy Spirit, throughout our land, as the 
only effectual agent in the work of national 
repentance and reformation — in the preserva- 
tion of our civil and religious liberties — in the 
consecration of this western world as a vast 



3] 

theatre of millennial piety and happiness — 
and in raising up millions and millions of our 
fallen race, from the depths of sin and mis- 
ery, to the realms of eternal peace , and purity. 
and glory. 



Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work 
in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though 
a man declare it unto you. — Acts, xiii. 41. 

The work here spoken of is the redemp- 
tion of the world by Jesus Christ. This glo- 
rious work originated in the benevolent pur- 
pose of the divine mind; it was made known 
immediately after the apostacy of our first 
parents. In the fulness of time, a Saviour 
was to appear, in the nature of man, and 
become a propitiation for the sins of the 
whole world, and open a way for our resto- 
ration and recovery from the ruins of the fall. 
This is properly the work of God, because 
he is the cause of it, constantly presides over 
it, and will effect its final consummation. It 
is true, he sees fit, in infinite wisdom, to em- 
ploy human instrumentality in this great 
work ; yet it is God that worketh in them, to 
will, and to do, of his good pleasure. As la- 



34 

borers in the vineyard of the Lord, we dig, 
we plant, we sow, we water — but it is God 
only who giveth the increase. By this work, 
then, we understand the change of the car- 
nal mind of man, his restoration to the moral 
image of his holy Creator, and his prepara- 
tion for the eternal enjoyment of God's pre- 
sence and favor. 

As a special mean of advancing and com- 
pleting this glorious work, God has establish- 
ed a church upon earth, against which the 
gates of hell can never prevail. There 
was a signal exhibition of the power and 
grace of God in the advancement of this 
work on the day of Pentecost, when three 
thousand were cut to the heart by the preach- 
ing of ignorant and illiterate men. 

Then the prediction of the prophet Joel — 
In the last days, saith God, I will pour out of 
my spirit upon all flesh — received its accom- 
plishment, and the first spring was given to 
the renovating movements of Christianity 
among the heathen. 

Since that memorable era, this great work 
has been progressing; it will increase and 
spread, until the knowledge of the Lord 
shall have enlightened the whole earth. 
This work shall triumph over all opposition, 
until Christ's name becomes great among the 
Gentiles; until every nation, tribe and peo- 



35 

pie, under heaven, unite to render him uni- 
versal homage. 

In what manner, and by what means, is 
this great work conducted? Not after the 
manner of men, nor in accordance with their 
finite views; but after the wisdom of God. 
whose prerogative it is to conduct it in that 
manner and by those means which will best 
conduce to his own glory, and the good of his 
intelligent universe, He first convinces the 
creature of his sin — then humbles him under 
a rational sense of its guilt and malignant 
nature, that he may pardon, sanctify and 
exalt him far above his original purity and 
elevation. It is this that bewilders the proud, 
the haughty, and the learned, who imagine, 
because they are unacquainted with the se- 
cret springs that move, and the wisdom that 
conducts this work, that these things cannot 
be, or are the creations of a heated imagina- 
tion, the offspring of priestcraft and fanati- 
cism. But, 

4i God moves in a mysterious way, 
His wonders to perform. " 

All instruments and all means are in his 
power, and he uses a great variety, such as 
he pleases, in carrying on his work of re- 
demption. He sends by whom he will send, 
and often chooses the most unlikely instru- 



36 

merits to perform the noblest services, and to 
accomplish the most arduous undertakings, 
He hath put the treasure of his Gospel in 
earthen vessels, that the excellency of the 
'power may be of God, and not of man — that 
no flesh may glory in his presence. 

The despisers of this work. The whole 
body of the Jewish nation did really pour scorn 
and contempt upon the blessed Jesus, and on 
the objects of his mission. Witness the man- 
ner in which they received the notice of his 
birth. They contemned his labors, disputed 
his miracles, abused his person, and took away 
his life. They were especially enraged at the 
success of his immediate followers ; and with 
the most barbarous severity, they opposed every 
effort to promulgate the doctrines of the Gospel, 
and promote the work of God. Nor are the 
Jews the only persons who despise this work. 

All backsliders show by their conduct that 
they despise both Christ and his Gospel, 
Though once they appeared to be firmly estab- 
lished in the principles of Christianity, and by a 
well ordered life and conversation, exhibited 
evidence to all of their piety and attachment to 
the cause of the Redeemer: yet, alas? they are 
now turned to the beggarly elements of this 
world, having made shipwreck of faith, and of 
a good conscience. They have trodden under 
foot the Son of God, and have counted the 
blood of the covenant, wherewith they wen 



sanctified, an unholy thing, and have done 
despite unto the spirit of his grace. These 
are spots in our feasts of charity; clouds they 
are without water, carried about of winds; 
trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice 
dead, plucked up by the roots; raging waves 
of the sea, foaming out their own shame ; wan- 
dering stars, to whom is reserved the black- 
ness of darkness forever. 

All profane persons, such as blasphemers, 
profane swearers, gamesters, drunkards, duel- 
lists, Sabbath-breakers, are virulent and active 
despisers of this work. It is unnecessary to 
prove this assertion. These characters con- 
stantly carry the proofs of their opposition 
about with them, and commonly glory in their 
shame. 

All professed infidels are open despisers of 
the Gospel of Christ. They ridicule revela- 
tion, sport themselves at the operations of the 
Holy Spirit, and laugh at all whom they con- 
sider w r eak enough to believe in the genuine- 
ness and veracity of the Bible^ and employ 
their blasphemous wits to burlesque its sacred 
contents. They not only laugh at christians, 
but they affect to pity their weakness, and la- 
ment the feebleness of their intellect, as if their 
own foolish systems, unsupported by evidence, 
and in direct opposition to the best testimony, 
were worthy the assent of a wise man, or 
suitable to be chosen as the foundation of his 

4 



38 

hope for eternity. They habitually speak of 
christians, especially the zealous sort, as weak 
and ignorant. Well,be it so. Disturb us not in 
the enjoyment of such a blessed weakness. 
It has opened to us a constant communion 
with our God; afforded us a sense of pardon, 
peace and acceptance with him; has disarmed 
death of its terrors, and given us an earnest of 
eternal felicity beyond the grave. But, there 
is a consideration, which is calculated to 
have more weight with infidels than the pre- 
sent happiness and immortal hopes of the 
christian faith. Though christians are said 
to be weak and ignorant, they are found in 
some respectable company, even in this world. 
Locke anatomized the human mind, and ac- 
curately described its various powers and 
operations. Boyle explored the secret springs 
of nature, and developed the causes of many 
of its phenomena. Newton traversed the 
starry regions, measured the heavenly bodies, 
and ascertained their relative magnitudes, 
distances, and periodical revolutions. These 
are names which stand first on the page of 
literary fame. Around their monuments is 
wreathed the everduring laurel. Were these 
men imbecile? were their faculties of a pig- 
my growth? in one word, were they infi- 
dels? No; verily, they were christians. 
It was the religion of the Bible that bles- 
sed them in the decline of life, afforded 



39 

them more sublime enjoyments than wealth, 
honor or renown can give, shed its sacred 
beams around them in the hour of their dis- 
solution, and cheered them quite through the 
dark valley of the shadow of death. 

We have the authority of scripture for ad- 
ding, that all men, who are not really engaged 
in promoting the work of the Lord, are de- 
spisers of this work. Indeed, it is utterly im- 
possible to maintain neutral ground respect- 
ing the religion of Jesus. No man can serve 
two masters, says our blessed Lord, and he 
that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. 
It is true that many, acting entirely from self 
interested motives, are instrumental of ad- 
vancing the cause of the Redeemer, and 
would not openly oppose it. Others suppress 
their internal feelings towards this cause, for 
the sake of gaining an advantage over the 
people of God; were it not so, christians 
would not long be permitted to worship God 
under their own vine and fig tree, none daring 
to make them afraid. But all, who are not 
cordially attached to this work from a su- 
preme regard to its author, are cordially, 
though perhaps secretly, its despisers. 

The true causes of this contempt. Such is 
the natural ignorance and moral darkness of 
men's minds, that, while in their natural state, 
they are incapable of discerning the truth, 
beauty, and spirituality of the law of God, 



40 

They are blinded by the god of this world— * 
the allurements of time and sense— the plea- 
sures, the vanities, the follies of the worlds 
which contribute to darken their mental vision, 
and call off their attention from the concerns 
of their souls. The unrenewed man loves 
these pleasures; they are exactly suited to 
his corrupt and vitiated taste. It is there- 
fore, perfectly natural for men to despise and 
reject divine revelation, because it expressly 
prohibits their habitual abuse of the things of 
this world, and condemns sin itself, no matter 
what form it assumes, or what imposing cha- 
racter it supports, on pain of eternal punish- 
ment. 

Pride holds a high rank among the many 
causes of this contempt. Pride is firmly seat- 
ed in the natural heart of man, and powerful- 
ly opposes every thing that threatens its de* 
fhronement. Pride is that self-exalting prin- 
ciple which reigns triumphant in the carnal 
mind, and demands universal homage. This 
pride cannot bear the humbling doctrines of 
the Gospel; they are too self-abasing; it will 
not stoop; it will not descend from its Babel 
tower, and receive pardon solely on the 
ground of the atoning merit of a crucified Sa- 
viour. This is the detested point of degrada- 
tion. This is the offence of the cross. Here 
the Jews stumbled, and fell, and were broken 
to pieces. Here the Greeks were confounded, 



41 

bewildered, and lost. Here the infidel scoffs 
and sneers, and embraces his own destruction ; 
and here the incorrigible sinner gazes, and 
wonders, and at last, eternally perishes! 

Such are the rooted and deeply grounded 
prejudices of men's minds, that they will not 
believe, though one rose from the dead. The 
Jews with the nvosrirrefragable evidence be- 
fore their eyes, remained unconcerned, filled 
with prejudices, and in the face of the most 
direct and luminous displays of divine power, 
rejected the Son of God, and crucified the 
Prince of life and glory. And, at the present 
day, let the truth as it is in Jesus be declared, 
with the argumentative powers of a Paul, and 
with the eloquence of an Apollos, supported 
in every word by the high authority of divine 
revelation, yet despisers would still remain 
hardened; would continue to mock and sport 
themselves w 7 ith their own deceivings. They 
would harden their hearts, and fortify their 
minds, lest the light of the glorious Gospel of 
Christ, who is the image of the invisible God, 
should shine into their minds, and they should 
be converted. 

The consequences of despising this work 
of the Lord. They will be fatal. Despisers 
shall wonder, and then, perish — perish in this 
life, in the hour of death, in the day of eter- 
nity. 

They shall perish in this life. The Jews 
4* 



42 

afford the most striking proof, if proof were 
necessary, of the truth of these awful predic- 
tions uttered against them; they despised 
Christ, and have ever since been despised 
themselves. The words of our Lord have 
been literally fulfilled respecting them, in the 
most exemplary manner. Not a jot nor a tittle 
of his predictions have failed. They have 
been scattered over the face of the earth, and 
still wander like wretched outcasts on the 
footstool of God. When the Roman soldiers 
entered and sacked their city, and set fire to 
their temple, they wondered, and perished* 

The expectations, which despisers, of all 
classes indulge from the fleeting objects of 
their idolatrous pursuits, are continually dis- 
appointing them : 

l « They grasp the phantoms and they find them air." 

Thousands fall into gross immoralities, which 
destroy their health, their prosperity, their all. 
The old age of despisers is dreary and com- 
fortless. Nothing is then left them but a fearful 
looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, 
which shall devour the adversaries. 

Despisers will wonder and perish at a dying 
hour. They may live without fear, continue 
for years careless and impenitent; but when 
the minister of death arrives — when the fear- 
ful summons sounds in their ears, prepare to 
meet thy God .far other subjects, than the 



43 

trifles of time will occupy their attention. 
They now feel it is a fearful thing to die un- 
prepared. They wonder why they have livec 
so regardless of their God ; so neglectful oi 
their immortal souls. They can say, O, the 
pain, but not the bliss of dying! Where am 
I going, says the affrighted soul? to what un- 
known regions? — Eternity is the only answer. 
Into whose presence? Into the presence of 
God Almighty, the Searcher of all hearts, the 
God of inflexible justice. Alas! 1 am going; 
but I dare not appear before him. I have 
.sold myself for nought, I have robbed myself 
of a crown of inestimable value. O time! 
time! it is fit thou shouldest strike thy mur- 
derer to the heart. How art thou fled for- 
ever! O, for a month, a week, a single day ! 
My frantic soul clings to earth; but in vain 
— the world recedes — I am shivering on the 
brink of eternal ruin — I sink — I die — I perish 
forever ! 

Despisers will wonder and perish at the 
last day. When they see the Judge enthron- 
ed, and the dead small and great stand before 
God; when they see the righteous applauded, 
and their own proud, selfish and obdurate 
hearts laid open, and their crimes made known ; 
then will their false hopes all vanish — then 
will their fear come as desolation, and their 
destruction as a whirlwind. Distress and an- 
guish shall come upon them, and all the 



44 

stings and horrors of a guilty conscience shall 
attend them forever and ever. 
r This subject exhibits, in a strong light, the 
infatuation of all who, in this land of light and 
freedom, know not God and despise his work 
of grace. To all persons of this description, 
we would say, in the language and by the au- 
thority of the Lord Jesus Christ — except ye 
repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Perish, 
some of you, arrested by death in the midst of 
revelry and dissipation, others in the full pur- 
suit of wealth and fame — perish out of pious 
families, under the daily reproof of parental 
example, at the very threshold of God's temple, 
from under the droppings of his sanctuary, 
and the presence of a faithful heart search- 
ing ministry — perish amidst the full blaze 
of Gospel light, and Gospel love — perish, al- 
though exalted to the gates of heaven in point 
of privilege, in full view of the mansions of the 
redeemed — thrust down into the dark regions 
of eternal despair. 



i4 Peace on earth, good will to man." 

It is said that just before the battle of the 
pyramids, Napoleon sublimely remarked to 
his soldiers — * Forty centuries are looking 
down upon you this day from the tops of the 
pyramids.' On the anniversary of the advent 
morning, with the song of the advent angels 
on our tongues, it is for us to say to each 
other as christian soldiers — Eighteen centu- 
ries are looking down upon us from the top of 
Calvary. 

We not only have the ancient records, and 
the early examples of Christianity, but we have 
before us, spread like a map, its course and 
current for eighteen hundred years. To the 
durability of the christian virtues, time, which 
wears away the solid marble, has lent the 
sanction of its power. Imperial Rome, whose 
capacious empire on the morning that Jesus 
was born embraced the wide world, has crum- 



46 

bled before the remorseless tooth of the hun- 
gry years: Ancient Rome is now but dust- 
yet Christianity lives — lives forever in our 
souls to the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ 

It is not by a splendid eulogium on the 
spirit which breathes out from the words of 
the text that we shall worthily celebrate this 
day, I purpose a wider range — a holier theme. 
I shall scarcely pause to point towards the 
troubled continent of Europe, where tyranny, 
like some sinuous monster, has so firmly bound 
the nations in its snaky folds that their disen- 
thralment can be effected only by a dreadful 
disruption, a sea of blood. Turning away 
from Paris, whence the cloud of battle has 
just rolled up, I shall scarcely direct your 
eyes to Belgium bleeding at every pore — the 
streets of her Brussels swept with the red ar- 
tillery of war — and her smoking Antwerp a 
ruinous pile that testifies to heaven against 
kingly rapine and murder. However impor- 
tant the present era in the dispensation of 
Providence may be, there is to us, individu- 
ally and collectively, a consideration of more 
importance than anything in the movements of 
empires. The question to us this morning is, 
What is Christianity? What is the spirit of 
that great era which was introduced by an- 
gelic strains, breathed gloriously, by celestial 
harpers, along the lighted up midnight sky, to 
the words of solemn joy; Glory to God in the 



47 

Highest! Peace on earth, good will to men? 

The words of our text are not so much de- 
scriptive of the first principles of Christianity 
as of its effects in promoting the glory of God 
and the happiness of man. Here we should 
make a critical distinction: the result is one 
thing, and the long train of principles or causes 
leading to that result may be very different. 
Yea, we have Christ's own declaration that 
his coming to our earth on his grand mission 
oflove would arm mankind in bloody strug- 
gles against each other, would disunite fami- 
lies, and create us foes in our own households 
— not on account, indeed, of any defect in the 
gospel of heavenly peace, but the deadly op- 
position is roused by its keen reproofs of sin, 
its purity, and its stern questionings into the 
motives and deep purposes of the human heart. 

Be ours the pleasant task this advent morn- 
ing of learning from the sacred scriptures what 
was the religion of the early christians — what 
those, w T ho had seen the Lord Jesus, face to 
face, considered the distinguishing traits of 
christian character ; and then a second task, 
pleasant or unpleasant, according to the tenor 
of our lives, will remain for us in comparing 
our own Christianity with that of the earliest 
period of the new dispensation. May the Lord 
smi ] e upon us and grant his blessing as we recal 
the thoughts, repeat the words and examine 
the Mves of the primitive disciples, w T ho had 



48 

the privilege of seeing our blessed Jesus in his 
earthly estate. More blessed than they shall 
we be, who, not having seen his mortal form, 
yet believe on him to the saving of our souls! 

From the multiform manifestations of chris- 
tian character and disposition, I shall only 
select five general points of view, each one sus- 
tained by the word of God, and casting light 
around the evidences of primitive discipleship, 

THEIR DISPOSITIONS OF HEART TOWARDS GOD 
AND CHRIST. 

There was a time in the religious experi- 
ence of the ancient Christians, when they 
were under deep impressions of their sinful- 
ness and danger. The glorious change from 
darkness to light, was with them, no illusion ; 
it was a change in the heart and in the will, 
producing an affectionate reliance on Christ 
for salvation. Towards God it produced a 
holy fear and the elevating affections of love 5 
hope, joy, and thankfulness. 

Every one of these particulars of ancient 
christian disposition are fully established by 
the following passages of scripture: Now 
when they heard this, they were pricked in 
the heart, and said unto Peter and the rest of 
the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we 
do ? Saul, trembling with astonishment, said. 
Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? The 
jailer called for a light, and sprang in, and 



49 

came trembling and fell down before Paul and 
Silas, and brought them out, and said, sirs, 
what must I do to be saved? Know ye not 
that the unrighteous shall not inherit the king- 
dom of God? Be not deceived; neither for- 
nicators, nor idola tors, nor effeminate, nor abu- 
sers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, 
nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers,nor 
extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 
And such were some of you; but ye are 
washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are jus- 
tified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by 
the spirit of our God. Even when we were 
dead in trespasses and sins hath he quicken- 
ed us together with Christ, and hath raised us 
up together, and made us sit in heavenly pla- 
ces in Christ Jesus. We give thanks to God 
and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
praying always for you since we heard of your 
faith and of the love which ye have to all 
the saints. Remembering without ceasing 
your work of faith and labor of love, and pa- 
tience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ We 
are bound to thank God always for you, breth- 
ren, as it is meet, because that your faith 
groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every 
one of you. Then had the churches rest- 
walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the 
comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied — 
and Hope maketh not ashamed ; because the 
love of God is shed abroad in our hearts, 

5 



50 

Therefore, being justified by faith, we have 
peace with God through our Lord Jesus 
Christ. — And not only so, but we also joy in 
God. Praising God, and having favor with 
all the people. 

The numerous emphatic expressions in the 
foregoing citations speak with an angel's voice 
of the affections of heart which the ancient 
disciples cherished towards their Creator and 
Redeemer. 

THEIR ATTENTION TO THE ORDINANCES. 

The great gospel itself they received with 
joy and reverence — they were baptized — they 
often read the Holy Scriptures—they com- 
memorated the dying of their ascended Lord 
at the sacramental table — they were often 
found on their knees in social prayer, in se- 
cret prayer; in the delightfu} employment of 
public worship they were found late at night 
and early in the morning — and, unlike those 
of any other religion under heaven, they 
prayed for their enemies. 

I establish every one of those traits of an- 
cient discipleship by a second appeal to the 
early writings of the church : — Then they that 
gladly received his word were baptized — and 
the same day there were added to them about 
three thousand souls. Crispes, the chief ru- 
ler of the Synagogue, believed on the Lord 
with all his house; and many of the Corin- 



51 

thians hearing, believed and were baptized. 
These were more noble than those in Thesa- 
lonica, in that they received the word with 
all gladness of mind, and searched the scrip- 
tures daily whether these things were so. 
When ye received the word of God which 
ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word 
of men. Continuing daily in the temple, with 
one accord, and breaking bread from house 
to house, did eat their meat with gladness and 
singleness of heart. Peter went up upon the 
house top to pray, about the sixth hour. At 
midnight, Paul and Silas prayed and sang 
praises unto God, and the prisoners heard 
them. And upon the first day of the week, 
when the disciples came together to break 
bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to de- 
part on the morrow, and continued his speech 
until midnight. Stephen cried with a loud 
voice, lay not this sin to their charge. 

THEIR TEMPER AND CONDUCT IN SOCIETY. 

The leading particulars of their temper 
and conduct towards others may be classed 
under the general heads of great esteem, care 
and love for their ministers, and an abundant 
reciprocity in return; unbounded affection to 
all the brethren; charity and kindness to 
those in want; unanimity of heart in promo- 
ting the temporal and spiritual good of those 
around them ; diligence in spreading the glo- 



52 

rious news of salvation from the upper waters 
of the Nile to the lonely Island of Britain — 
united wit a wide separation of interests from 
the wicked. 

For proofs I again appeal to the unerring 
word: — My temptation which was in my flesh, 
ye despised not, nor rejected; but received 
me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus. 
Peter was kept in prison, but prayer was made 
without ceasing of the Church for him. Oh, 
ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you; 
our heart is enlarged. But as touching broth- 
erly love ye need not that I write unto you, for 
ye yourselves are taught of God to love one 
another. Then the disciples, every man ac- 
cording to his ability, determined to send re- 
lief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judea. 
The multitude of them that believed were of 
one heart and of one soul; neither said any 
of them that aught of the things which he 
possessed was his own, but they had all things 
in common; neither was there any among 
them that lacked. But I have written unto 
you not to keep company, if any man that is 
called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, 
or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an 
extortioner. 

THEIR PERSONAL VIRTUES. 

Their deportment was sober; they were 
humble in view of their own sinfulness; they 



53 

were patient and even joyful under afflictions; 
they were willing to die; they were full of hap- 
piness in the prospect of eternity. 

The following passages are only a few of 
those that describe the sterling virtues of the 
ancient saints; wherein they think it strange 
that ye run not with them to the same excess 
of riot. Unto me who am the least of all 
saints is this grace given that I should preach 
among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches 
of Christ. Christ Jesus came into the world 
to save sinners, of whom I am the chief. So 
that we ourselves glory in you in the church- 
es of God, for your patience and faith in all 
your persecutions and tribulations that ye en- 
dure — For ye had compassion on me in my 
bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your 
goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in 
heaven a better and an enduring substance. 
But we glory in tribulation also, knowing that 
tribulation worketh patience. For I am in a 
strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart 
and be with Christ ; which is far better. Oh, 
death where is thy sting? Oh grave where is 
thy victory £ 

THEIR SUFFERINGS FOR CHRIST'S SAKE. 

Their sufferings have no parallel in the an- 
nals of human misery — The founders of no 
other doctrine encountered persecution like 
theirs. Reviled and hunted from kingdom to 

5* 



54 

kingdom, they wandered amidst the moun* 
tains of Judea, Greece or Italy, clothed in the 
vskins of beasts that were more merciful to them 
than their savage persecutors. Violent deaths 
were the early rewards of all the apostles. 
It was in those murderous times an act of great 
self-denial to profess the name of Christ be- 
fore men. Yes, the primitive christians suf- 
fered. Hear the relation which a few of them 
gave of their trials: — when they had called 
the apostles and beaten them, they command- 
ed that they should not speak in the name of 
Jesus. Cast one out of the city and stoned 
him. They stoned Stephen, calling upon God 
and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. At 
that time there was a great persecution against 
the church, and they were all scattered abroad 
throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria. 
Herod killed James the brother of John, with 
the sword. The Jews stirred up the devout 
and honorable woman and the chief men of 
the city, and raised persecution against Paul 
and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their 
coasts. When they had laid many stripes up- 
on Paul and Silas, they cast them into prison. 
These numerous elucidations of ancient 
christian character cannot but give us the 
form and body of Christianity. This was re- 
ligion. This was the church arrayed for the 
battle. This was the glorious bride which 
angels welcomed to the New Jerusalem. This 



55 

was the heavenly spirit of Jesus, embodied in 
the hearts of his faithful, confiding followers. 
This was the sunlike form before which the 
moral glooms that hung over the whole world, 
like a black eternity, were to roll away, and 
admit immortal splendor from above. This 
was the perfect form of spiritual beauty, 
rising like a vision of heaven upon a world of 
sin. It was the new creation which filled sa- 
tan with astonishment and dismay. He saw 
the Lion of the tribe of Judah wrench un- 
harmed the death arrow of hellish malice from 
his opened side, and with tremendous power 
unclasp the sealed book which held beneath 
its adamantine lock the fates of earth's hith- 
erto hopeless millions. He saw, and fell like 
lightning from heaven. Hell echoed back to 
the far earth his yell of despair. The sun hid 
his face. The crazy rocks and mountains 
shuddered with the spasms of an internal 
earthquake. The dead, untimely, opened 
their glazing eyes upon a scene they could not 
comprehend, nor take into the rayless sockets 
of those windows of the soul long darkened by 
death. 

My dear hearers! is this religion yours? 
Have you the witness in your bosoms that you 
stand on the foundation of the apostles and 
first christians? Have you, like them, felt 
your sinfulness and danger without Christ in 
a world that was passing away from you like 



56 

an arrow shot out into thin air? Have you, 
like them, fled to him, as Peter on the troubled 
sea, saying, save, Lord, or we perish.? Did a 
light break out in the heavens above you in the 
moment of your extremity ? Did the tempest 
of your soul assuage — the loud billows of di- 
vine wrath hush up their roarings before the 
rebuke of Him whom winds and waves and 
worlds obey? Did the calm morning of heav- 
enly peace shine into your hearts with a sweet 
power, before which the thick darkness of your 
souls fled away ? And when your joys flowed 
like a wide and deep river, was Christ your 
theme and your all ? Did you find him pre- 
cious to your souls as the loved light of your 
own existence ? Did you believe him able to 
guide you, like a strong angel, through the vi- 
cissitudes of time, through sickness and pain 
and the chilling darkness of the grave to your 
final home, where the shadowy, lean, and 
shapeless form of death shall never enter? 
Did you, who once despised the terrors of the 
Lord, begin to have a holy fear creep through 
your frames at remembrance of the Ineffable 
One — love and hope mount up in your bosoms 
in view of the perfections of Eternal Benevo- 
lence? Did you rejoice in God more than in 
the abundance of wealth, or did you find 
yourselves at peace with the great monarch 
of eternity, or did a song of thankfulness 



5? 

break from' your fervent lips when the honor 
of God was precious to redeemed thousands? 
Have you observed the ordinances of 
Christ's gracious appointment? Have you 
met your beloved Lord at the table which he 
has spread until the world shall end on which 
to lay out the memorials of his dying love ? 
Have you delighted to read the scriptures as 
if they were bequests from an earthly relative, 
conveying more than the wealth of the Indies 
to you and yours forever? Have you, like 
your ascended and now glorified Saviour, 
spent the night in secret prayer, wrestling in 
inexpressible desires with Him who never 
slumbers on the high watch tower of universal 
rule? Have you, like your Saviour, prayed 
fervently for those whose deep, causeless mal- 
ice would take away your lives? Have you 
loved, esteemed, and prayed for those whom 
the Holy Spirit hath placed over you in the 
ministry of reconciliation? Have you taken 
upon you the flill burden of their wants? Have 
you stepped forward to defend them when as- 
sailed by malicious tongues ? Have you from 
the impulses of christian love to your breth- 
ren relieved them when in want — covered their 
faults with the mantle of charity—shut up 
your ears against defamatory reports respect- 
ing the conduct or principles of those of whom 
the world is not worthy? Have you, when 
assembled in congregation to promote reli- 



58 

gious efforts acted with one mind — the unity 
of one with the strength of thousands? Have 
your hearts and ears been open to the calls of 
the heathen world, who are absolutely starv- 
ing by millions for the crumbs of spiritual 
knowledge which are thrown away in chris- 
tian lands? Have you said in your hearts of 
the wicked who are in worldly prosperity, 
come not, oh my soul, into their tabernacle, 
and to them let not mine honor be united.^ 
Have you been sober in your deportment as 
though all the eyes of immortality were look 
ing out from every cloud and star upon you, 
and the never sleeping eye of the Watchman 
of Israel? Have you been humble like those 
who have entailed woe and disobedience upon 
themselves and owe all they have to mercy, 
unspeakable mercy? When afflictions gath- 
ered around you, overshadowing all your 
worldly prospects, have you been patient un- 
der the heavy hand of bereavement, and 
blessed the Lord who took far away, into the 
darkness of the grave, your beloved friend? 
When fever and sickness left their imperious 
messages for your own selves, and summoned 
you in seeming haste to leave the scenes of 
time, were you willing to go alone the dreary 
journey from whence no traveller returns; or 
when eternity was apparently near, were you 
filled with joy that your sure reward was so 
nigh — your crown of everlasting life so close 



59 

to your mortal brows? Have you gladly 
seen your worldly expectations fade for 
Christ's sake? Have you, without a wish to fol- 
low them, seen your gay and pleasure loving 
friends, take another path from that in which 
you chose to walk — and have you joyfully 
borne reproach, calumny, and angry words on 
account of your faithfulness to the cause of 
the Redeemer? 

If the sincere answer to all these questions 
is in the affirmative, you are indeed christians ; 
you have a Christmas blessing which worlds 
sold to purchase could not buy, nor hell, rous- 
ed up to fury, destroy. 

Contemplating this subject a threefold 
figure of unparalleled grandeur arises on the 
mind. It is a view of Time and Eternity and 
Religion. Time hath a swift motion like one 
in haste to be gone. It had a beginning and 
must soon end. Detached portions of it are 
passing away like the torn clouds before a 
driving hurricane. Since the last anniver- 
sary of this blessed day, a year has gone to 
join 'the years beyond the flood;' and the 
whole extent of time, through thousands of 
years, is but the length of a fragment broken 
off from eternity. Eternity! oh, who shall 
describe it? Who hath returned from its 
echoless shores to tell its secrets ! One wri- 
ter remarks that when the hour shall be in- 
quired by those who are suffering the eternal 



60 

penalty for despising the blood of a Saviour, 
the only answer will be that of a solemn voice, 
pronouncing along the bosom of their dark- 
ness the indescribable answer — eternity, eter- 
ty, eternity! 

Connected with both time and eternity, 
Religion throws her radiance over two 
worlds. Alas, alas, there is one world 
where she never comes; there is one world 
unvisited by Hope's bright star. Religion 
stands on the banks of the swift rolling river 
which sweeps empires and thrones and cities 
and men to their final, changeless desti- 
nations. 

In a world where universal 'glory to God 
in the Highest v shall be the universal anthem, 
it will not be a cause of grief to us that, de- 
parting from the usual strain of christian tri- 
umph and gratulation on this occasion, we 
have walked up towards Calvary, from 
whence the stream of salvation, destined to 
roll through and overilow the nations who 
rise under the gospel dispensation, gushes out 
as from an unclosed fountain. We saw mists 
and fogs and clouds and storms lour around 
the river of life — yet it borrowed no gloom or 
sadness — neither did it roll one turbid wave 
to soil the lowly, but lovely flowers that de- 
lighted to linger on its peaceful banks. If the 
atmosphere now around us be brighter — if the 
stream of salvation be broader — if the bow of 



61 

the eternal promises, one end resting on earth 
and the other planted on one of the sapphire 
stones of the New Jerusalem, be painted with 
livelier colors on the dark, retreating vapors 
of the storm — if signs in the heavens and com- 
motions among the nations give token of a 
second advent, when Christ shall descend in 
a chariot of cloud, as he w 7 ent up on the as- 
cension morning from Olivet — if eighteen 
centuries looking down upon us from the top 
of Calvary, and the unborn centuries looking 
up to us for the body and fashioning of times 
to come — confer any importance and honor 
and glory to the high station and dignity with 
which Heaven has invested the present gen- 
eration — to God be all the praise--to us the 
boundless joy. 



1 Tim. i. 15. 

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. 

Jesus Christ came into the world. From 
that hour, when the promise of a Saviour broke 
the fearful gloom that had spread its dark cur- 
tains over paradise, down to the auspicious mo- 
ment when celestial choirs poured uponthe ears 
ofwondering shepherds the new and ravishing 
song of deliverance and peace, the world had 
been gradually preparing for his appearance. 
The children of men, those more especially 
to whom appertained the covenant and pro- 
mise, were taught to expect some great per- 
sonage, clothed with divine authority and un- 
limited power, At length, in the fulness of 
time, after a variety of strange phenomena, 
operating alike on the heathen and Jewish 
world, presenting signal omens, portentous 
and overwhelming, the star of the promised 
Prince ushered in his glorious reign, and Christ 



64 

was worshipped by the Eastern magi, while 
yet an infant, under the significant title of King 
of the Jews. The coming of the Messiah had 
been described by saint and seer, patriarch 
and king, with the pomp of oratory, and the 
eloquence of song. The circumstance and 
stateliness of kingly dominion and magnifi- 
cent display, portrayed in the Jewish writings, 
tended to give importance and grandeur to 
his expected appearance and reign. But 
notwithstanding the picture was highly color- 
ed, the outline vast and imposing, it was not 
to be understood literally. The glory and the 
beauty, the magnitude and the display, were 
to be spiritually discerned ; and therefore, 
none but spiritual minds could comprehend 
the connexion between the lowliness of the 
Redeemer's person and appearance, and the 
lofty annunciations of the prophet's harp. The 
Jews were wholly absorbed in the letter, and 
they were thus unprepared or unwilling to 
pierce the veil of flesh, and poverty of circum- 
stance, which flung a cloud over the ascend- 
ing Sun. The prophet sang in vain, 'Rejoice 
greatly, oh daughter of Zion ! shout, oh daugh- 
ter of Jerusalem; behold, thy King cometh 
unto thee!' The Jews believed the record, 
but they rejoiced not in the coming of Christ. 
The daughters of Jerusalem shouted not at 
the birth of their King. But though they 
gave no welcome to their long expected one, 



65 

dazzling squadrons from the high empyrean, 
were not unmindful of the great event. If 
man sang no glad song, turned no golden lyre, 
multitudes of the heavenly host hymned his 
praise, and celebrated his birth in lofty strains 
of angelic music. 

4 In heavervttr© rapturous song began, 

And sweet, seraphic fire 
Through all the shining regions ran, 

And strung, and tuned the lyre. 1 

And though no light flashed from the earth, 
4 to bid the brightest and best of the morning' 
welcome to our sin-stained soil, a new and bril- 
liant star glittered in the dome of heaven, the 
precursor of his glorious reign. 

He was the brightness of his Father's glory, 
and the express image of his person ; yet, Hear, 
oh heaven! and be astonished, oh earth!' he 
became man! He was in the form of God, 
and counted it not robbery to be equal with 
God ; yet, he descended from his royal throne, 
clothed himself with the dust of his footstool, 
and became bone of our bone, and flesh of our 
flesh ! In the ignoble garb of a servant of ser- 
vants, he entered the sinful and troubled 
abodes of mortality, to be our partner in suf- 
fering and sorrow, that he might be deeply 
imbued with the finest sensitive feelings of 
poor human nature. 

'Touch'd with a sympathy within, 
Ke knows our feeble frame; 

6* 



66 

He knows what sore temptations mean s 
For he hath felt the same.' 

He came to his own, and his own receive 
ed him not. He was despised and rejected 
by the very beings, for whose salvation and 
happiness he had left the glory he had with 
the Father before the world was, and from 
whom he had a right to expect the most pro- 
found reverence, and demonstrations of the 
highest joy. No sooner was it noised abroad 
that the Christ was born in Bethlehem, ac- 
cording to the prophets, than Herod was trou- 
bled, and all Jerusalem with him. A base 
and bloody order was issued by the pusillani- 
mous monarch, who felt conscious of the inse- 
curity of his throne, and trembled, lest the new 
born Prince was destined to wrench the scep- 
tre from his impious grasp. Nor did their ma- 
licious and blood-thirsty designs against his 
person, his character, and ministry, abate, till 
the insulting, barbarous, and tragic scenes of 
the garden, the judgment hall, the pillar, and 
the cross, consummated their diabolical pur- 
poses. 

Christ Jesus came into the world to save 
sinners. — Man is guilty, weighed down under 
the curse of a law he has wilfully and wick- 
edly broken. Having thus ruined himself, he 
is unable to meet the perfect obedience re- 
quired by the divine statute, and has thus sunk 
into deep and irremediable condemnation, ex- 



67 

posed to wrath and punishment, without any 
dawning of hope, or any intercessions of 
mercy. In this sense, men are sinners — all 
men. There is no exception; for in Adam 
all die. All have sinned and come short of 
the glory of God. The whole world lieth in 
wickedness. There is none that doeth right- 
eousness, no, not one. 

Man is unholy. Unholiness is guilt. The 
unholy and sinful dispositions of the human 
heart, are exhibited in the pages of man's his- 
tory, with more or less enormity; but they 
have invariably the same crimson type from 
Adam down to the present hour. This truth 
is established in every stage of his brief exist- 
ence, in every country, and through all orders 
and grades of society. The whole family of 
man, being thus tainted with this great moral 
pollution, are thus separated from all friendly 
intercourse or communion with the pure Being 
against whom they have rebelled, and whose 
government and laws they have slighted and 
trampled under foot. This separation from 
God deepens the pit into which they are 
plunged, rendering their case hopeless in this 
life, exposing them to the thunderbolts of the 
x\ext^ and to the eternal horrors of a terrible 
and irrevocable perdition. 

4 How sad our state by nature is ! 
Our sin how deep its stains •' 

To save man from his sins and to shield him 



68 

from the impending ruin that thundered on 
his path, the Lord Jesus came into the world. 
'He shall save his people from their sins,' is 
the signification of his name. His own words 
confirm this truth, 'the Son of man is come to 
seek and to save that which is lost' ; I am not 
come to call the righteous, but sinners to re- 
pentance.' This benevolent and godlike pur- 
pose engaged his attention during the whole 
course of his ministry and life, nor did his suf- 
ferings, or the cruelties he endured, even in 
their extreme and bitterest agonies, absorb 
this great leading feature of his character. 

The manner in which he accomplished this 
great design, and prepared the way for the 
sinner's recovery, salvation, and happiness, is 
in perfect accordance with the claims of jus- 
tice and the criminality of the offender. Man 
is guilty before God, condemned, and awaiting 
the sentence of death, unable to yield a per- 
fect obedience to the divine precept; without 
hope, having no plea, and totally ruined and 
undone. In this trying juncture, Christ offers 
himself as his substitute, places himself at the 
bar of justice, receives the blow 7 intended for 
the criminal, obeys the law in all its minutiae 
and extent, satisfying its most rigorous de- 
mands, and making it possible for the guilty 
and condemned wretch to be released from 
the bondage of sin, restored to the Divine fa- 
vor and image; at the same time, guarding 



69 

every infringement upon the justice of the 
lawgiver, so that God can now be just, and 
the justifier of all them who sincrely repent 
and unfeignedly believe in his Son Jesus Christ, 
the slain Lamb, who is the propitiation for our 
sins, and not ours only, but for the sins of the 
whole world. There is no remission of sins 
without the shedding of blood. 

l To man, the bleeding cross has promised all: 
The bleeding cross has sworn eternal grace.' 

See the consummation of the promise given 
to Adam in the hour of his depression, and in 
the night of his guilt, in the sufferings and 
death of Jesus! Behold the foot of the prom- 
ised seed bruising the head of the great ser- 
pent, and from the bloody brow of Calvary 
triumphing over principalities and powers, and 
making a show of them openly, strewing their 
honors in the dust, and withering the strength 
of the mighty and the renowned! Behold the 
Son of the eternal God, clothed in the robes of 
his priesthood, dyed with the blood of the 
grape, alone and single-handed, treading the 
wine press of the wrath of God ! See him 
coming out of Bozrah, travelling in the great- 
ness of his strength, crushing down the walls 
of our prison house, entering the lists with all 
our enemies, disarming death of its terrors, 
the grave of its boasted triumphs, bursting 
the barriers of the tomb, and binding, with 



70 

the golden chain of his atonement, earth to 
heaven, man to God; lifting the everlasting 
gates, and pointing far, far away, up into the 
highest heavens, to the mansions of everlasting 
blessedness and peace, prepared for the faith- 
ful from the foundation of the world. 

Who is the King of glory, who? 

The Lord that all our foes overcame, 
The world, and sin, and hell o'erthrew; 

And Jesus is the conqueror's name. 

The terms of salvation, are few and simple, 
and accord well with the plan of redemption 
and the character of the atonement made by 
Jesus Christ, Repentance towards God and 
faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, are the condi- 
tions prescribed in the gospel, Our repent- 
ance should be deep, sincere, and lasting; our 
faith of the operation of the Spirit, for faith 
is the gift of God. It should be fixed singly 
on God, through Jesus Christ, the great Medi- 
ator between God and man, without any reli- 
ance upon ourselves, or our own righteous- 
ness; for by the deeds of the law no man can 
be justified in the sight of God,. He must 
therefore turn away from Sinai, and from self, 
from every part of heaven, from all hope and 
every plea, but, God be merciful to me a sin- 
ner. 

'None but Jesus 
Can do helpless sinners good!' 



71 

Come to God, pleading the merits of a Sa- 
vior — 

'Five bleeding wounds he bears, 
Receiv'don Calvary; 
They pour effectual prayers, 

They strongly speak for me. 
Forgive him, oh, forgive, they cry, 
Nor let that ransom'd sinner die!' 

And mark the success of the appeal — 

'The Father hears him pray, 

His dear anointed One; 
He cannot turn away 

The presence of his Son; 
His spirit answers to the blood, 
And tells me I am born of God.' 

The salvation alluded to is not circum- 
scribed in its operations. It does not merely 
imply the entire acquittal of the condemned 
sinner. It changes as well as justifies ; work- 
ing a moral reformation in the dispositions of 
the heart, in the conversation, and the life. It 
is a salvation from all sin, from the least and 
last remains of the carnal nature. The Bible 
teaches this encouraging doctrine, using 
the language of authority, and plainly saying, 
that without holiness of heart, we shall never 
see God. The man who believes with a 
heart unto righteousness, to him is the reward, 
not of debt, and this reward is the indwelling 
Spirit witnessing with his, not only that he is 
born again, but that he is also sanctified, set 
apart for God's use, to be a vessel of honor in 
the spiritual church of the Lord ; the very 



72 

thoughts of his heart being cleansed by the 
inspiration of the Holy Ghost, so that he now 
perfectly loves God, and worthily magnifies 
his holy name. Are we justified? Can we 
set to our seal, that God for Christ's sake has 
pardoned our sins? If we can rejoice in the 
divine favor, and know in whom we have be- 
lieved, let us go forward, bearing precious 
seed, full of faith in the promises, and relying 
implicitly on the assurance of God's word, 
and we shall feel a spiritual enlargement of 
soul. We shall be saved withran entire salva- 
tion from all sin, and rejoice with joy un- 
speakable and full of glory. The designs of 
Christ's coming into the world will be an- 
swered in all their evangelical bearings. We 
shall no longer go mourning all our days, lim- 
iting the Almighty by our lack of faith, want 
of decision of character, and sinful back- 
wardness. All the Christian graces shall dis- 
tinguish our onward course, irradiating our 
onward path, and giving out a beautiful epi- 
tome of true religion, in the conformity of our 
lives to the precepts of the gospel. 

We may go farther onward and still find, as 
we progress, that immortal blessings spring up 
in consequence of Christ's coming, beyond the 
precincts of time. Christ came in to our 
world, that we might go into a better world. 
Christians have no expectation of reaping all 
the benefits of Christ's coming, in this world; 



73 

here they expect to taste of his salvation ; in 
heaven it will be all their food. Here they 
expect, indeed, to love much, as much has 
been forgiven them — here they expect to pay 
much, as they have many wants — here they 
expect to praise much, as they have eter- 
nal cause for songs and thanksgiving — here 
they expect to be perfect, as their Father in 
heaven is perfect; and here, beneath nature's 
sun, they do expect the sun of heavenly joy 
will grow broader and more brilliant, as the 
sands of their earthly hours decline, until its 
rounded and palpable disk shall seem to ab- 
sorb every other prospect: but in heaven they 
expect not only an immeasurable flood of 
glory — they expect also, ever expanding ca- 
pacities of mind, soul and spirit, to take in and 
enjoy this augmenting tide of holy delight. 

In conclusion, we pause a moment over the 
magnitude of the event, described in the words 
of the text — Christ came into the world. 
The advent must ever rank higher in the gra- 
dations of earthly occurrences than any other. 
As the closing of the Jewish dispensation and 
the opening of the Christian era, it bears an 
imposing attitude; as the accomplishment of 
promises which had cheered the inhabitants 
of the earlier world — as a most magnificent 
display of heavenly mercy and condescen- 
sion; as a death blow r to the otherwise un- 
broken tyranny of sin and destruction; as the 

7 



74 

last sure refuge of humanity, under its load 
of woes and sufferings, and as furnishing the 
only ark of salvation that shall be able to bear 
up against the earth's second deluge — that of 
fire — the advent has an importance which 
calls for admiration, and demands the loudest 
songs of adoring angels and redeemed men. 
Christ came into the world, and every ancient 
type and shadow submerged in the full tide of 
glory that rolled before him at his coming. 
Christ came into the world, and, for the first 
and only time, the far wandering music of the 
sweet heavens struck on mortal ears. Christ 
came into the world, and the star of his em- 
pire arose in lovely radiance over Bethlehem. 
He came and the demons of despair, with 
clenched hands, and blood-shot eyes, spread 
out their dragon wings, to return to their na- 
tive hell. He came, and the realms of dark- 
ness were involved in heavier clouds, and gave 
out more terrific groans, as the last hopes of 
the thunder-blasted monarch below were 
quenched forever in the streams that flowed 
down the rocky steeps of Calvary. He came, 
and Sinai thundered terribly and hopelessly 
no more — the Lion of Judah and the voice of 
the broken mandate, became silent to those 
who sprinkled themselves with the blood of 
this sacrifice — and the trumpet tongued song 
of unnumbered millions in heaven smote on 
prophetic ears like the sound of many waters. 



75 

How precious is Christ to every one who 
has received him, and knows experimentally 
the value of his redeeming love ! In vain have 
the flowery epithets of the magniloquent East 
exhausted their perfumes on the Savior's name 
and perfections; his beauties are yet unspo- 
ken — undescribed. Every Christian, whether 
he possess the oriental order of character, or 
the hyperborean frigidity, knows how weak 
and imbecile are the loftiest powers of lan- 
guage to describe the chiefest among ten 
thousand — the one altogether lovely. Sun of 
the morning — the Day Spring from on high — 
the Beauty of holiness — Angel of the cove- 
nant — slain Lamb of God — Priest— Prophet- 
King — accept our poor attempts to honor 
thee in that world, whose crown of thorns, 
whose rugged wood, whose inhospitable soil 
were stained with thy blood, freely poured 
for the salvation of its guilty inhabitants. 



Exodus, xxiij. 20. 

Behold, I send an angel before thee, to keep thee in the way. 
and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. 

No Christian can expect to reach heaven 
without opposition and difficulty. *In the 
world ye shall have tribulation,' is the pro- 
phetic warning Jesus gave his disciples on the 
eve of their separation. It was necessary to 
prepare their minds for the great tribulations 
they were called to endure. In the primitive 
ages of the Christian church, the sufferings ot 
God's people were frequent and unparalleled. 
Although the hand of persecution has long 
since been paralyzed, and the followers of 
Christ are not called to suffer the spoiling of 
their goods, or the burning of their bodies, the 
divine decree, that all who live godly in Christ 
Jesus shall suffer persecution, is not repealed. 
For notwithstanding the fair face the w T orld 

shows towards Christianity, and the many 

7# 



78 

good and wholesome laws that rear up a wall 
of brass around it, the heart of man is un- 
changed, and his carnal disposition is the 
same as it was in the hottest times, when per- 
secution raged, and the tribulations of the 
righteous were neither few nor small. This 
world is a wilderness still, and to the Chris- 
tian who has escaped from the city of destruc- 
tion, and turned his face Zionward, it is truly 
formidable. He hears the frantic ravings of 
the coming storm on the outspread wings of 
the tempest. He sees the bleak mountains 
throwing their giant shadows athwart the 
path he must tread- — the interminable sands, 
stretching away, and lost in the distance, dim 
his weary eye — while hordes of implacable 
enemies harass and wound him, as he presses 
onward towards the Jordan of deliverance 
and hope. He is, therefore, fearfully appre- 
hensive, that he will one day make shipwreck 
of faith, and prove a recreant from the grace 
of Christ. But when he becomes acquainted 
with the supports and consolations of the gos- 
pel, and finds that God is not unmindful of his 
people, and has always opened a door for their 
relief — that the way to heaven, though diffi- 
cult and dangerous, is rendered easy, and 
even pleasant, by the kindness of our Hea- 
venly Father, his mind is relieved, and a 
sweet peace takes possession of his soul. The 
Christian thus supported and enlightened by 



79 

the Spirit of God, is calm amidst the storm. 
In the midst of strife, and when the battling 
elements rage around him, and threaten des- 
truction to his hopes, he hears the voice of his 
deliverer above the storm, saying unto him, 
'Go forward — fear not, for I am with thee ; 
be not dismayed, for 1 am thy God. I will 
strengthen thee, yea, I will help thee; yea, I 
will uphold thee by the right hand of my 
righteousness.' 

'When darkness intercepts the skies, 
And sorrow's waves around me roll, 
And high the storms of trouble rise, 
And half o'erwhelm my sinking soul; 
My soul a sudden calm shall feel, 
And hear a whisper, "Peace, be still!" 

The Christian has a faithful guide. — 
The children of Israel were not left to tread 
the mazes of the wilderness alone, and with- 
out a guide. God not only raised up Moses 
and Aaron to go before them, and to encour- 
age them in the devious paths through which 
they were called to pass, but he also provided 
a column of smoke by day and a pillar of fire 
by night, to conduct them in safety in their 
hazardous journey to the promised Canaan. 
Nor is he less solicitous to provide for the 
Christian's journey to the heavenly Canaan. 
The blessed Jesus has undertaken to guide 
the poor pilgrim through the valley of mise- 
ries; and for that purpose, he has already tra- 
velled the road, and made himself acquainted 



80 

with all its difficulties, and windings, its 
sorrows and tribulations, that he may be the 
better able to minister to the necessities of his 
suffering people, and conduct them in safety 
to the port of endless bliss. The Holy Spir- 
it's influence, the light of the sacred word, 
and the presence of the angel of the covenant, 
conspire to render the Christian's path plain, 
to secure his feet from stumbling, and to keep 
his face turned towards Mount Zion, the city 
of the living God. Thus guided, he marches 
forward without fear, knowing that all his 
ways are ordered for the best — believing in 
hope against hope, and resolved, through dif- 
ficulty and danger, darkness, bereavement, 
and death, to persevere to the end ; knowing 
that those only who endure to the end, shall 
be saved. 

He has a strong guard. — In a dangerous 
road, a guide is necessary; but is not always 
sufficient. But the Christian has both a guide 
and a protector. 'The Lord God,' says the 
Psalmist, 6 is a sun and shield.' ; He is both 
a guard and a light. The Lord fought all Is- 
rael's battles. The Lord is a man of war: 
The Lord is his name, Pharaoh's chariots 
and his host hath he cast into the sea. Thy 
right hand, oh Lord, is become glorious in 
power: Thy right hand, oh Lord, hath dashed 
in pieces the enemy ! Thou, in thy mercy, hast 
led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: 



81 

Thou hast guided them in thy strength to thy 
holy habitation. He was their Captain — and 
vain is the arm of might, the councils of the 
wise, or the rush of armed legions, without 
his assistance and support. The race is not 
to the swift, nor the battle to the strong. It 
is the Lord who giveth the victory. He alone 
can subdue our foes, and overcome the obsta- 
cles in the Christain's course. When he with- 
holds his aid, and leaves us to ourselves, the 
feeblest worm iscapable of destroying us, the 
most insignificant circumstance may work our 
ruin. But they who put their trust in the Lord, 
shall never be confounded. They shall be 
like Mount Zion, that cannot be moved. When 
the king of Assyria encompassed the Lord's 
prophet in Dathan, with horses and cha- 
riots, and a great host, his servant said unto 
him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? 
And he answered, fear nothing; for they that 
be with us, are more than they that be with 
them. And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I 
pray thee open his eyes, that he may see. 
And the Lord opened the eyes of the young 
man: and he saw, and behold the mountain 
was full of horses and chariots of fire, round 
about Elisha. The Christian's guard are nu- 
merous and mighty. They encamp around 
the faithful like a wall of fire. The forms of 
the heavenly ones, unseen indeed by mortal 
eyes, crowd the region of atmosphere where 



82 

we dwell. Their presence is a safe protec- 
tion from dangers seen and unseen. They 
watch their charge continually, and never 
slumber nor sleep. No change of circum- 
stances, poverty, or pain, weal, or wo, makes 
any change in their regards, nor lessens the 
deep interest and anxious solicitude they 
always manifest for the heirs of glory, in 
screening them from harm, covering their 
heads in every severe conflict with their spir- 
itual foes, ai\d preserving them alive when 
death and hell stalk abroad, trampling upon 
the haughty ones of the earth. The chivalry 
of heaven is the Christian's guard! He is sup- 
ported by the arm of Jehovah. Though all 
the powers of darkness should be leagued 
against him, he need fear no ill — for greater 
is he that is for us, than all that is against us. 
What enemy can compete with the Almighty ? 
or measure strength with the arm that sup- 
ports a universe of worlds? What resistless 
tide, but he can, in a moment, roll back ! What 
mountain billows, but he can stay ! Can he not 
hush the wild uproar of contending elements, 
smooth the ruffled brow of the blackening 
heavens; arrest the forked lightnings in their 
destructive course, and change blustering winds 
into Zephyrs, soft as the balmy airs of Eden! 
All things are subservient to his will, and min- 
ister to his pleasure. And can he not engage 
them all in the Christian's service, to ensure 



83 

his happiness and safety, and to conduce to his 
present and everlasting good ! 

1 What though a thousand hosts engage, 
A thousand worlds my soul to shake, 
I have a shield, shall quell their rage, 
And drive the alien armies back. 1 

He has rich and abundant supplies. — Israel 
had nigh fainted in the wilderness for lack of 
bread ; his soul was thirsty ; but he cried unto 
the Lord in his trouble, and he delivered him 
out of his distresses, and he heard his voice. 
Sweet water streamed from the smitten rock, 
and manna dropped down fresh from the pro- 
pitious skies. That rock prefigured Christ. 
His body was stricken, his bosom cleft, and 
from thence flowed the living waters that make 
glad the city of our God. His body is bread 
indeed, and his blood is drink indeed. The 
Lord has provided a rich and generous feast 
for his children. The table is large, and ex- 
tends all over the earth. There is no spot on 
the footstool, it matters not how barren, or 
dreary, rocky, or uncultivated, but what is 
visited by the rich dews of heavenly grace, or 
from whose soil, does not spring up celestial 
fruit, pleasant to the taste, and refreshing to 
the soul. For the Christian's accommodation 
the Lord has opened up springs in the desert, 
and crowned the unfruitful places of the earth 
with the flowers of paradise, and sweetened 
the very air we breathe with the spicy gales of 



84 

Calvary. All along the King's highway, cast 
up for the ransomed of the Lord, are the 
arbors and shady and beautiful groves, his 
hands have planted and adorned, to comfort 
and refresh the weary pilgrim in his toilsome 
journey to the desired haven. He is constant- 
ly supplied with every thing necessary and 
useful to satisfy his wants. Shining ones attend 
his footsteps — extensive prospects, ever-vary- 
ing, reaching far up above the realm of clouds, 
glowing with the touches of a divine pencil — 
ravishing sounds of melody and song, with 
hopes immortal, that know no bound — and the 
recompense of reward, that no eye hath seen, 
nor ear hath heard, and which hath not enter- 
ed into the heart of man to conceive, all these, 
with more than tongue can utter, or language 
describe, are intended for his benefit and use, 
to animate, encourage, and strengthen him, 
till he hears the trumpet of victory, exchanges 
the mortal coil for the wardrobe of the skies, 
and mingles with the church triumphant on 
the banks of deliverance. 

He is not travelling an unknown road.-" 
When the Israelites fled from the face of Pha- 
raoh and his armed host, they were treading 
an unknown path. No monuments arose to 
their view, no voices came upon the winds to 
tell them that others had trodden the same 
way, encountered the same difficulties, tri- 
umphed over similar obstacles, and that they 



85 

might push on without faltering, having the 
noblest examples to stimulate them to deeds 
of glory and suffering. No encouragements 
like these, were adduced to sustain the minds 
of the affrighted multitude, who stood trem- 
bling between the sea of difficulty and the 
pursuing army. But the Christian sets his 
foot upon the proud wave, feeling assured that 
myriads have passed over in safety. He enters 
the wilderness unmoved; confident, that he 
who conducted all that had gone before, se- 
curely and triumphantly, unmanned and un- 
touched to the purchased possession, is able 
to save to the uttermost all them who humbly 
rely upon his promises, and commit their souls 
to his faithful keeping. Thanks be to God ! the 
Christian is not like one who beats the air. 
He is not trying an experiment. He has the 
glorious example of the bravest and the best 
to encourage him — kings and princes, warriors 
and statesmen, philosophers and poets, who 
have entered the same course, tracked the 
same rough and thorny paths, have been wil- 
ling to submit themselves to the same guide, 
borne patiently the same reproaches, endured 
the same tribulations, and experienced the 
same joys, consolations and supports, and are 
now quietly reposing under the shadow of the 
Almighty's throne. 

'They all are robed in spotless white, 
And conquering palms they bear.'—? 

8 



86 

When the Christian beholds these clouds 
of witnesses — when he hears the dying testi- 
mony of these illustrious persons — and reads 
engraven on their histories, and the monu- 
ments of their valor and faithfulness, the great 
fights they endured, the deep waters through 
which they passed, the bitter cups they were 
forced to drain, and the cruel mockings and 
scourgings to which they submitted with pa- 
tient resignation and holy joy; manifesting 
their integrity, unsubdued, and without wa- 
vering, even in the hottest fires and in the 
dreadful hour of martyrdom, clapping their 
scourged and bloody hands with shouts of 
holy triumph — -his very soul within him burns, 
and pants to emulate the integrity, the patience 
and Christian fortitude, for which these heroic 
spirits were so nobly distinguished. 

He is not a solitary traveller — He is ac- 
companied by multitudes from almost every 
country under heaven. They have neither 
decreased in dignity, nor in number. Their 
achievments, it is true, do not seem to make 
so much noise in the world, as did those of 
the fathers in the days of the church's purity 
and glory. But they are still conquerors 
through Him who hath loved us, and are nobly 
contending for the faith once delivered to the 
saints, with the world, the flesh, and the devil. 
The enemies of Christianity do not now as- 
sume so formidable an array as they did in 



87 

the days of the apostles and their immediate 
successors, when the iron hand of the law, 
and the united suffrages of a great people, 
were its sworn foes; but they are equally for- 
midable in another point of light, and more 
insidious and wily, and require, perhaps more 
skill and judgment to encounter them with 
any hope of success. When the faggots are 
heaped, the fires burning, and men's lives are 
in danger; extraordinary gifts, deep religious 
feeling, with brave contempt of death are eli- 
cited, not often seen when the church is per- 
mitted to worship without fear, under her own 
vine and fig-tree. There are, however, in- 
stances of piety, zeal, and self-devotion to the 
cause of the Redeemer, among Christians at 
the present time, in fine keeping with the giants 
of Trajan's and Julian's days. These are 
the companions of the Christian, whose senti- 
ments are elevated and whose conversation is 
in heaven. They are not of this world; for 
they desire a better country, that is, a hea- 
venly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be 
called their God; for he hath prepared for 
them a city, a house not made with hands, 
eternal in the heavens. They are bending 
their steps to the country for which he is 
bound, are partakers of the same like precious 
faith, and contend manfully with him in the 
ranks of the redeemed army, for the glorious 
reward of which he hopes to be a partaker 



88 

on the morning of the resurrection. What 
splendid motives to induce the Christian to be 
faithful unto death ! He is one of that great, 
united, and universal host, which is going for- 
ward to certain victory, achieving deeds of 
high renown, planting their footsteps above the 
stars, and writing their names, in characters 
of living light, over the gates of the celes- 
tial city. 

This subject, thus presented, suggests many 
encouraging reflections. The serious-minded, 
who are yet numbered among the unregene- 
rate, often are depressed and kept mourning 
in their desolate and barren state of mind by 
not applying to themselves the rich and varied 
encouragements which naturally and gra- 
ciously flow 7 from the blessed system of our 
holy religion. This class, and it is composed 
of vast numbers, fear that, after having com- 
menced the gospel race, they shall fail by the 
way. They are faithless in respect to divine 
aid. They see much around them of a dis- 
couraging nature; see many reputed Chris- 
tians whose glimmering lights scarcely scat- 
ter the thick darkness of the wilderness ; and 
hear many a doleful song from that country 
which should, and most certainly would be, to 
the living, spiritual Christian, 'the land of 
BeulalV the very suburbs of heaven. So in 
former times, the Iraelites were discouraged 
by the difficulties of the wilderness way that 



89 

spread out before them; they murmured for 
the flesh-pots of Egypt, although at the im- 
mense price of national bondage, rather than 
follow that glorious pillar of fire and cloud, 
which was leading them with a sure and 
steady progress to the lovely valleys of Ca- 
naan. The serious mind should ever remem- 
ber that God is not afar off. He hideth not 
himself in darkness. Creation is even now 
full of the symbols of his presence, as palpable 
and as strongly indicated to the man of faith, 
as the pillar that stretches itself from earth to 
the skies, alternately in the van and the rear 
of the chosen tribes. Would not thousands, 
who now linger behind, while the church is 
marching onward, arise at once, if they could 
only have the assurance that their steps 
should not falter, in the heavenly pathway? 
Will it encourage this class to tell them that 
a humble yet determined resolution to serve 
the God of Jacob through weakness and in 
strength, will be answered by a blessing from 
Jehovah? Will it animate one of these de- 
sponding minds to learn that so far as we trust 
or rely upon God, just so far additional resolu- 
tion, comfort, light, encouragement, and a good 
assurance is bountifully bestowed, through 
Jesus Christ, by the same beneficent hand 
that pours out the light of day upon all lands, 
and sprinkles the reviving dews, and opens 
the treasures of the clouds upon the parched 

8* 



90 

plains — that same Almighty One, who is per- 
petually giving, without measure and without 
price, even to the ungrateful and the unthank- 
ful? All this — yea, more, may be told to this 
class of hesitating mourners on the unerring 
authority of the King of kings and Lord of 
lords. It is precious to the downcast soul to 
learn that the promises of peace and mercy 
may be applied to its own case — its own par- 
ticular wants. 

Christians may reap a new and ever increas- 
ing harvest of blessed assurance from the 
word and the mighty spirit of the text. Yes, 
Christian, thine every step is ever attended 
by an angel — the angel of the covenant — un- 
seen he may be to the natural eye — but he 
certainly is near thee, if thou standest on holy 
ground. His love passeth the friendship of 
earth. His steps are with thine when thou 
passeth through the chilling waters of the sea 
of death. Why, oh Christian, dost thou not 
put on an unfailing courage, and shout with a 
song of triumph as loud as the thunder of the 
great deep, when it cries to heaven from its 
lowest caverns. Strong is thy defence ! Thine 
attendant is one whose eye is dreadful to thine 
enemies; but full, overflowing with tender 
compassions for thee! 

The wide spread ' Sacramental host of the 
church, gathers all its confidence and its full 
assurance of victory from this unsealed and 



91 

unfathomable fountain of endless consolation. 
Let us for one brief moment look at the atti- 
tude of the church. Now, perhaps, in tears, 
in dust, trodden down by the oppressor and 
stained with her own blood; to-morrow, she 
shines like some glorious one, and the kings of 
the earth tremble before the holy splendors of 
her countenance. To-day, following with 
mournful step a brother in Jesus to the lonely 
tomb; to-morrow, with a loud song proclaim- 
ing that all is well with him who is in the dust ; 
all is well this side of death, and all is trium- 
phant beyond! To-day, a seemingly feeble 
band against which, proud words of scorn are 
levelled; to-morrow, a host with banners 
streaming under the whole heaven, with more 
than mortal music burdening every breeze — 
with crowns and plumes, and the intense 
gleams of immortal panoply, kindling on every 
cloud, and illuminating every mountain and 
valley. Well might the seer, who, for gold, 
sought out a curse for Jacob, say: Howgoodly 
are thy tents, oh Jacob, and thy tabernacles, 
oh Israel! 

This was a prospective view — only lifting 
up a little the curtain which hung over the fu- 
ture prospects of the church. The same 
thought is amplified, if not adorned, by Pol- 
lock, the pious poet, who sung his soul to sleep 
with such strains as these:— 

4 How fair the daughter of Jerusalem, then! 



92 

How gloriously from Zion's hill she looked! 
Cloth'd with the sun; and in her train the moon; 
And on her head a coronet of stars; 
And girding round her waist, wiih heavenly grace, 
The bow of mercy bright; and in her hand 
Immanuel's cross — her sceptre and her hope." 

But these views, rich as they are with un- 
speakable blessings, are taken from the earth. 
The church now is seen going farther on to 
the very place which God has prepared for 
her. Change and vicissitude and death in- 
vaded the territories of Jacob below; but he 
has a place now prepared for him ; a king- 
dom not to be measured by human meters, not 
invaded by earthly woes, or battle, or change. 
Countless angels are throwing open the gates 
to this region, as immeasurably wide as it is 
beautiful, beyond the power of language to 
paint; and trumpets and harps pouring forth 
the volumes of song such as earth never heard, 
summon the redeemed to their last, joyful rest- 
ing place. 

Death is now no more. Sin is shut out for- 
ever. Heaven burns with its accumulated 
bliss. It has now reaped the great harvest 
of the earth. It now, to its other songs, hath 
added the greater one of redeeming love. And 
now beyond this point, it is not permitted to 
penetrate farther. Here this blessed interdic- 
tion begins — eye hath not seen — ear hath not 
heard — heart hath not conceived. All be- 
yond is glory unsufferably bright. 



John v, 39, 

Search the Scriptures. 

Although the way to heaven is luminous, 
delightful, and safe; yet it is accompanied 
with trials, difficulties and conflicts. There 
are many false guides to mislead us, and 
many enemies to encounter. It is, therefore, 
important to find a sure direction, an unerring 
and faithful guide, and a firm and valiant pro- 
tector. 

All these wants have been supplied by, the 
eternal God. Christ, the great captain of our 
salvation, has trodden the road himself, and 
conquered every enemy. He now guards and 
defends all who commit themselves to his care 
and keeping, and the holy Scriptures afford a 
sure direction to God, to happiness, and to 
heaven. 



94 

THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. 

The word scripture, in its original sense, is 
of the same import with writing. The several 
books contained in the Bible are called Scrip- 
tures by way of eminence, as they are the 
most important of all writings. 

They are holy; — full of truth and grace ; 
inimitable in simplicity, and glowing with ce- 
lestial love to a fallen world. The purity of 
their doctrines and precepts; the exquisite 
beauty, majesty, and elevation of their gen- 
eral bearing, 

" Their great original proclaim." 

They are true.-— THieir appearance is an- 
cient, and the variety in their style is an evi- 
dence that they were composed by different 
persons, at different and distant times, and 
yet, in all their parts, they unite in promoting 
one great object. Bad men could not have 
written what so plainly condemns all sin, espe- 
cially when they had a prospect of gaining 
nothing by the deception but reproach, im- 
prisonment, torture, and death; and good men 
* would not have deceived mankind by pretend- 
ing that an invention of their own was a re- 
velation from heaven. 

Although they are not in opposition to hu- 
man wisdom, enlightened by the spirit of 
God — yet they rise infinitely superior to its 
greatest efforts and loftiest conceptions, and 



95 

are contrary to that corruption of the heart 
which impostors would inculcate as the means 
of gaining their ends. 

They give an account of various miracles 
which must have been performed by the pow- 
er of God, as no man could have done them 
of himself. Deceptions they could not have 
been, because they were wrought in the open 
face of day, in the midst of vast multitudes 
of people, the most of whom were enemies, 
ready and anxious to expose the fraud if any 
such had really existed ; and memorials of 
them were taken on the spot, preserved and 
handed down from generation to generation. 

The religion of the Scriptures, was, at first, 
established and supported by these miracles, 
and has ever since maintained a powerful in- 
fluence in the world, notwithstanding the nu- 
merous and high handed efforts made to de- 
stroy it. 

There are a great number of prophecies in 
these Scriptures that have been fulfilled to 
the very letter and spirit of the text— a most 
satisfactory and incontrovertible evidence of 
their truth and authenticity as a revelation 
from God. 

Those which relate to the destruction of 
ancient nations and cities were recorded in 
numerous instances hundreds of years before 
their accomplishment. 

The prophecies, having for their grand sub- 



96 

jects the incarnation of the Son of God, his 
life, labors, and sufferings ; his death, resur- 
rection, and ascension, are standing monu- 
ments in confirmation of the authority of 
holy writ. 

The prophecies respecting the Jews — point- 
ing out the destruction of their temple and 
city by the Romans, their dispersion into all 
lands, their preservation as a distinct people, 
have been openly fulfilled and continue fulfill- 
ing to the present day, to the utter astonish- 
ment of all who have doubted, or may doubt, 
the genuineness of the holy Scriptures as hav- 
ing originated in God, bearing his signature 
and expressive of his character. 

They contain the most important truths.— 
The character and attributes of God, his 
eternity, his omnipresence, his immensity, his 
wisdom, goodness, justice, holiness, and mercy, 
are written on the sacred page, as it were 
with sunbeams. 

The immortality of the soul, its infinite de- 
merit, immense value, the vast price paid for 
it, and what should be our great care and con- 
corn in this life ; these weighty and important 
subjects, which puzzled and bewildered the 
best and wisest of the ancients, are here fully 
explained and distinctly stated. 

The holy Scriptures are addressed to all 
mankind as sinners; all having sinned and 
come short of the glory of God; and this single 



97 

circumstance alone raises them above price, 
and throws a splendor over these precious 
writings, unrivalled by any human production. 

They are the words of reconciliation from 
an offended sovereign to his rebellious sub- 
jects, containing merciful offers of grace and 
salvation. When men, therefore, feel them- 
selves to be sinners, and discover their need 
of a Saviour, the truth, that Jesus came into 
the world to save sinners, is, to ihem, valu- 
able above every thing else. 

The important question, what must I do to 
be saved? is here satisfactorily answered; 
and the manner, in which God will be ap- 
proached and worshipped by rational intelli- 
gences, pointed out with clearness, fidelity, 
and truth. 

They are full of divine consolation. — They 
teach us to address God as our Father in 
heaven, and declare that his ear is ever open 
to our prayers, and his hand to supply our 
wants. As a father pitieth his children, so 
the Lord pitieth them that fear him; for he 
knoweth our frame; he remembereth we are 
but dust. What a resource in the hour of 
need! What a shelter from the storm! What 
a solace in seasons of distress, and in the day 
of peril! 

41 Oar numerous griefs are here redrest, 

And all our wants supplied : 
Naught we can ask to make us blest 

Is in this hook^enied." 

9 



98 

These consolatory sayings of the Divine 
Spirit, calm the agitated mind in its worst dis- 
tress. They shed down upon the soul a hea- 
ven of love, and fill the ambient air with the 
breath of paradise. 

" Here the Redeemer's welcome voice 

Spreads heavenly peace around, 
And life and everlasting joys 

Attend the blissful sound." 

Thy statues, says David, have been my 
songs in the house of my pilgrimage ; unless 
thy law had been my delight, I should have 
perished in my afflictions. 

They will endure forever. — The time is not 
distant when all present things shall have 
passed away, without leaving a trace behind 
to remind us that they ever were. The lights 
of literature, of science, and of the arts, which 
now dazzle and charm, will then be covered 
with the shadows of night; and the flowers of 
friendship, of home, and of society, shall lie 
withered and dead upon the turf that covers 
us. The brother, the friends of our youth, 
the companion of our joys and sorrows, the 
children that are dear to us, the possessions 
we enjoy, the sun which shines upon us, yea, 
every earthly good will fail us. All in this 
world is changing and uncertain. Where can 
we rest? Where can we fix our feet and say, 
this will not sink under us — this will abide 
forever ? The trees are falling to naught, the 



99 

stones are wasting away, the rivers are has- 
tening to the ocean, the tombs of our fathers 
are breaking up, the monuments of fame are 
crumbling into dust. Our fathers, where are 
they? and the prophets, do they live forever? 
All flesh is grass, and all the glory of man is as 
the flower of the field ; the grass withereth, 
the flower thereof fadeth away, but the word 
of the Lord endureth forever. Heaven and 
earth, says Christ, shall pass away, but my 
words shall not pass away. 

Here then is something that will remain af- 
ter the world shall have forsaken us, and all 
earthly prospects are blasted. These Scrip- 
tures change not; their presence will more 
than fill the void which the absence of earth- 
born joys has created in the smitten breast. 
In a word — they will be found inexpressibly 
precious in the hour of death, in the day of 
judgment, and through eternity. 

THE SCRIPTURES SHOULD BE SEARCHED. 

It is ChrisVs command. — Search the Scrip- 
tures, says the adorable Jesus, for in them ye 
think ye have eternal life, and they are they 
that testify of me. Blessed are they that hear 
the word of God and keep it. 

The Apostle writes, let the word of Christ 
dwell in you richly in all wisdom ; and he 
charges the Thessalonians, that his epistle be 
read unto all the holy brethren. 



100 

The wise man urges us to cry after knowl- 
edge, to seek her as silver, and search for her 
as hidden treasure. Wisdom is the principal 
thing; therefore get wisdom. David was al- 
ways studying the Scriptures, and describes 
the righteous man as one whose delight is in 
the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he 
meditate day and night. Timothy was ac- 
quainted with the Scriptures from a child. 
Apollos was mighty in the Scriptures. The 
primitive Christians read the Scriptures fre- 
quently, and with great care, and the most emi- 
nent saints, in all ages of the world, received 
the first kindlings of that bright flame, which 
distinguished them as burning and shining 
lights, from this hallowed source. 

It is a means of obtaining salvation. — The 
Scriptures are able to make us wise unto sal- 
vation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus, 
and are profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for 
correction, for instruction in righteousness, 
that the man of God may be perfect, tho- 
roughly furnished unto every good w r ord and 
work. What things were written aforetime, 
were written for our learning, that we, 
through patience and comfort of the Scrip- 
tures, might have hope. 

They are compared to a mirror, in which 
we behold the glory of the Lord, and are 
changed into the same image, from glory to 
glory, even as by the spirit of the Lord. 



J01 

Thy law, says the royal Psalmist, is perfect, 
converting the soul; and the man whose de- 
light is in the law of the Lord, shall be like 
a tree planted by the rivers of water, that 
bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf 
also shall not wither, and whatsoever he 
doeth, it shall prosper. 

By searching the Scriptures we shall ac- 
quaint ourselves with God, and be at peace, 
and thereby good shall come unto us. 

It is a source of happiness. 

"This world is a region of outsides, a land of shadows." 

This world, though exceedingly attractive, 
is deceitful, and unworthy of our esteem and 
love. Its promises of constancy and fulness 
of joy are empty and vain. 

44 We grasp the phantoms and we find them air." 

It is a continued scene of disappointed hopes 
and blasted expectations; thickly strewn over 
with the broken and decayed fragments of the 
pride and ambition of man. The humiliating 
truth, that all is vanity, is written upon his 
fairest and proudest works, while the lips of 
the dying, and the cold memorials of the dead, 
announce it in language more than human. 

But here, in searching these Scriptures, we 
shall find true happiness. Here, we shall not 
be disappointed; for, great peace have they 
that love thy law. Their peace shall flow as 

9* 



102 

a river, and their righteousness as the waves 
of the sea. 

They should be searched with diligence, in 
dependence upon divine aid, and with pray- 
er. The richness and abundance of the mine, 
which can never be exhausted, are motives 
sufficiently powerful to excite us to activity 
and perseverance in his holy work. 

Neglecting to search the Scriptures is pro- 
ductive of much evil. — The ignorance and en- 
mity of the opposers of these Scriptures may 
be attributed to this neglect. They have ei- 
ther examined them without due deference to 
the high authority whence they have emana- 
ted, and the important matter which they con- 
tain, or they have scornfully rejected them 
without even glancing at their contents, con- 
demning them upon the false evidences of 
others, as weak and as wicked as themselves; 
and, therefore, their judgment, in regard to 
these holy writings, is wholly worthless, be- 
neath the attention of rational and thinking 
men. 

Some have pretended that searching the 
Scriptures is the grand cause of the many 
false and groundless notions which prevail 
among men, and of the dreadful persecutions 
which blot the pages of church history. The 
contrary, however, may be asserted without 
danger of being fairly disproved. A cloud of 
witnesses there are, even of those who had 



103 

been once the proudest champions in the ene- 
my's ranks, to establish the truth that search- 
ing the Scriptures, with an humble, penitent 
lowly and contrite heart, is conducive of health 
to the soul, light to the understanding, and 
peace to the mind. Many of these had been 
formerly well acquainted with the letter of the 
Scriptures, had searched them with proud 
hearts, and with a fixed resolution not to be 
convinced by their reasonings or subdued by 
their threatenings. They had summoned 
them to the bar of reason, decorated with the 
insignia of philosophy, and there branded them 
with infamy; but when their prospects in life 
changed — when the dungeon and the scaffold 
stood before them — when death and eternity 
stared them in the face, and earth and worlds 
were sinking — with what eager haste they 
fled to these strong holds for help! with what 
ravishing joy they clasped and clung to the 
sacred truths they had once despised! 

Our Lord attributes the infidel principles 
of the Sadducees to their ignorance of the 
Scriptures ; ye do err, says he, not knowing the 
Scriptures or the power of God ; and in a very 
solemn manner declares, that whosoever re- 
jecteth Him and receiveth not his words, 
hath one thatjudgeth him, even the word 
which he hath spoken, which will judge him 
at the last day. 

In a word — nothing can be of greater mag- 



104 

nitude in the gradations of intelligence than 
what is written in the holy Scriptures. 

They are of higher antiquity, and treat upon 
more important, sublime, and glorious subjects 
than any other records to be found in the ar- 
chives of the universe. All human produc- 
tions when compared to them are imbecile, 
and perishable. The literary efforts of the 
finest writers in ancient or modern times are 
eclipsed by the luminous rays of divine light 
that surround them. They stand apart, alone, 
and without a rival — a splendid demonstra- 
tion of God's love to rebellious worms. In 
perusing them, we hold converse with a long 
line of the greatest worthies of antiquity ; both 
worlds are connected, and a vast and illimit- 
able field opened for instruction and warning. 

The wisest philosophers, the scholar and 
the statesman, have bowed down before the 
majesty of their rebuke, and have acknowl- 
edged, with astonishment, admiration, and 
awe, the elegance of their style, the purity of 
their morals, and the grandeur and magnifi- 
cence of the imagery with which they abound. 
To these venerable documents they are large- 
ly indebted for the great mass of information 
that distinguishes their noblest works. In a 
word, the whole galaxy of the arts and 
sciences have a nearer or more distant con- 
nexion with them, as the source from which 
they have emanated, and under whose foster- 



105 

ing influence they have grown up to emin- 
ence, utility, and importance. But what en- 
nobles and dignifies these revealed truths 
above every thing else, is their salutary and 
gracious influence upon society. Separate 
from all other considerations, in this particu- 
lar, they occupy a place as remarkable as it 
is elevated. 

Unmoved by the machinations of enemies, 
and shining in a sphere where no power can 
paralyze their efforts, or change their charac- 
ter for integrity, constancy, and active bene- 
volence, they pass through the moral heavens, 
shedding down their holy light, on those who 
sit in the valley and shadow of death — open- 
ing upon the mind of man the blissful abodes 
of everlasting day, without a cloud to inter- 
cept the vision, the whisper of a doubt, or the 
intrusion of a fear to perplex or bewilder. 



Heb. xi, 24, 25. 

By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called 
the son of Pharach's daughter; choosing rather to suffer afflic- 
tion with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin 
for a season. 

The history of Moses is the finest specimen 
of bold, graphic and illustrious biography to 
be found in the volume of inspiration. The 
character of this wonderful man is drawn with 
great accuracy and skill. It is a glowing 
portrait of the majesty of virtue, and the mag- 
nanimity of a high minded patriot and devoted 
servant of God. 

We are not called to the contemplation 
of a bold adventurer, preying upon the liberties 
of his fellow men, or glorying in the distresses 
which his avaricious hand had wrought — nor 
of another Alexander, waging war with the 
whole world, reeking with the blood of mil- 
lions, and towering above his compeers in all 
the haughtiness of a vain glorious, ostentatious 



108 

pride. We contemplate a man raised to the 
pinnacle of earthly grandeur, surrounded by 
courtly friends, and with the prospect before 
him of bearing an imperial sceptre — yet vol- 
untarily renouncing these flattering distinc- 
tions, giving up every claim to empire, and 
casting his lot with a poor, despised and per- 
secuted people. 

MOSES. 

The early history of this man of God is dis- 
tinguished by the gracious interpositions of 
divine providence. Influenced by the God of 
Israel, his parents preserved the beautiful in- 
fant when his life was menaced bv the cruel 
edict of Pharaoh, and while he was exposed 
to the watery element, in a bark of rushes, a 
mysterious power provided for his safety ; a 
royal hand snatched him from his frail bed, 
and committed him to his own mother's bo- 
som; and, under maternal guardianship, he 
grew up in the fear and love of the God of 
his fathers. 

When he had attained a proper age, he was 
introduced to all the luxuries and blandish- 
ments of Pharaoh's court. Philosophers and 
statesmen were invested with the care of his 
education. He became learned in all the wis- 
dom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in word 
and deed. Initiated in the schools of the 
Magi, he became an eminent scholar and a 



109 

profound statesman. As one of the princes of 
Egypt, the adopted son of Pharaoh's daughter, 
the presumptive heir of a crown and regal 
honors, he was placed far above want — he 
moved in a circle brightened by the counte- 
nance of the great, the wise, and the noble; 
yet he was not intoxicated by royal favor, nor 
seduced by the allurements of ambition. The 
gilded phantasies which floated around him, 
the brilliant smiles and heartless protestations 
were incapable of chaining his mind or enslav- 
ing his noble powers. High and holy was his 
calling. He, therefore, rejected every thing 
intervening between him and his God, or the 
mighty purpose which labored in his breast — 
even the deliverance of his Hebrew brethren 
from captivity and death. For this purpose he 
yielded himself up a willing victim to all the 
consequences of an act which, in the estima- 
tion of human policy, would appear inconsid- 
eration or extreme rashness, 

The feelings of many are respondent only 
to the glare and tinsel of the earth. Riches 
captivate their imagination, titles feed their 
vanity, the flatteries of the great are music in 
their ears, the principles of truth and the 
beauty of religion they either impiously out- 
rage or wholly disregard. An unexpected 
elevation in life fills them with ideas of their 
own importance, and a desire to bury forever 
the thoughts of their former insignificance and 

10 



no 

poverty. But neither nobleness of birth, the 
shout ofapplause,northe possession of wealth, 
can confer goodness or implant virtue in the 
soul. Virtue springs not from earth; it has 
not its origin in gold and silver, in honor or 
dishonor; and he who would base his fortunes 
on such frail materials, is building on sand. 
Art thou noble by birth — has fortune thrown 
over thee a radiated light, or a gemmed coro- 
net? Oh, remember there is a nobler ances- 
try than mouldy parchments confirm. There 
are riches that can never waste away, and a 
laurel wreath that withers not. Art thou poor, 
despised and broken hearted? The Lord of 
the universe is thy friend; and if thou hast 
taken him for thy portion, thou art rich indeed. 
The treasures of kings are but dross when 
compared to thine; thy riches shall endure 
when crowns and sceptres shall have crum- 
bled into dust; thou hast an heirship to an 
immortal, glorious kingdom, under a heavenly 
meridian. 

To proceed — Moses refused to be called the 
son of Pharaoh's daughter — he was in the 
maturity of manhood, fully adequate to the 
task of examining and choosing for himself 
when he took this decisive and honorable step. 
He was, says the inspired historian, full forty 
years of age — a period in the life of man when 
ambition often usurps unlimited power over 
the mind. Besides, he was basking in the 



Ill 

sunshine of royal favor, and breathing the 
fascinating air of a palace. The value this 
great man placed upon these empty, earthly 
vanities, stamps him at once a saint and a 
hero. With a precision more than human, he 
penetrated every principle of their nature, 
proved them to be false, hollow, unsatisfying; 
and, spurning their united efforts to beguile 
and ensnare him, with a manly energy shook 
off the gilded fetters and proclaimed himself 
free. 

These considerations alone, however weigh- 
ty, were not the only ones in view of which 
he acted. Moses, to have acknowledged his 
title, would have been required to relinquish 
the religion of his fathers, and forfeit his birth- 
right as one of the children of Abraham. The 
decided manner in which Moses refused to be 
called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, com- 
mands our admiration. The sacrifice was 
great — it w T as unprecedented ! Behold him 
throwing off the imperial purple, divesting him- 
self of the gaudy trappings of distinction — 
eyeing the sceptre, the crown, the throne, 
with indifference; while from his bright ele- 
vation he extends his view to his enslaved 
countrymen, turning his back upon an impious, 
idolatrous, yet seductive court, he descended 
from the eminence of kings with a noble and 
majestic mien; he chose the road to the poor 
cottages of the oppressed Israelites. 



112 



HIS CHOICE. 



And now we find Moses among the people 
of God. Here the children of Israel are em- 
phatically denominated the people of God. A 
more sublime title could not have been given 
them. The historian leaves the contrast be- 
tween the subjects and honors of an earthly 
potentate, and the simple epithet — people of 
God — to be filled up by the contemplative 
mind. 

The condition of Israel's descendants at 
this time was deplorable. Their cup was full 
of bitterness. A lamentation rose continually 
over murdered innocents throughout distract- 
ed Goshen. A deep horror had seized upon 
their senses, They were despised, trodden 
down and insulted. Sorely galled with the 
heavy yoke and bleeding from the lash of 
their hard taskmasters, they wept before the 
Lord, and their cry pierced the heavens. Je- 
hovah was not unmindful of their sufferings; 
in all their affliction he was afflicted, and the 
angel of his presence saved them; in his love 
and in his pity he redeemed them, and he 
bare them and carried them all the days of 
old. His eye was fixed intensely upon them, 
and his hand was stretched out to remove the 
cloud that hung around their hopes. He pro- 
nounced them his people — a peculiar people— 
a chosen people — a people for whom was 



113 

held in reversion a well watered fruitful coun- 
try — the rich, beautiful Canaan, the garden 
of the earth. A people whose protector, com- 
forter and guide was the mighty God of Jacob, 
For as an eagle stirreth up her nest, flutter- 
eth over her young, spreadeth abroad her 
wings, taketh them, beareth them on her 
wings; so the Lord alone did lead them, and 
there was no strange god with them. A peo- 
ple through whom all the families of the earth 
were to be made glad, and by whose instru- 
mentality the river of life should overflow its 
banks and refresh the nations; a people for 
whose deliverance Egypt was enveloped with 
darkness, the Nile crimsoned with blood, the 
atmosphere darkened withinsects, and a realm 
clothed in sackcloth for all the first born of 
man smitten with sudden and unexpected 
death; a people over whose fortunes rose a 
peerless star, gleaming fiery wrath to their 
enemies, but shedding, over the path of the 
dismayed and crest-fallen, light, direction and 
security. Thy right hand, O Lord, is become 
glorious in power: thy right hand, O Lord, 
hath dashed in pieces the enemy. Thou, in 
thy mercy, hast led forth the people which 
thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them 
in thy strength unto the holy habitation. 

These were the people of his choice. Un- 
like the soft and effeminate, he chose to suffer 
affliction with them. He did not join them 

10* 



114 

for the loaves and fishes, or to gratify a love 
of ease. No; he purposed, if he could not 
break their iron yoke, to share their bondage, 
participate in their toils, abide their fate; in 
short, to cleave to them and them only in weal 
or wo. 

Many there are who mate themselves with 
religion when she wears a lovely aspect, lifts 
her head above the clouds, and walks in the 
high places of the earth ; but when she is ar- 
rayed in the drapery of sorrow, when around 
her plays the lightning, rolls the thunder, and 
a persecuting world' are in arms against her— 
then these craven friends are not — they are 
shaken off by the tempest — the trumpet's 
spirit-stirring voice hath swept them away. 

Not so with Moses. Were the people of 
God afflicted — were they universally despised 
— -were they destined to die in the field of 
battle — the purposes of his steady soul would 
respond to their dying accents, and victory 
or death hung on his lips, was written on his 
brow, flamed from his burnished shield, and 
flashed from his spear. 

WHAT INFLUENCED HIS CHOICE. 

By faith Moses, when he was come to 
years, refused to be called the son of Pha- 
raoh's daughter. He believed in God. This 
fundamental principle of his holy religion was 
deeply imprinted in his soul; it preserved him 



115 

from being seduced by the most fascinating 
lures that earth can hold out to man. It 
was faith that influenced him in making a 
prompt decision and a wise choice. His faith 
rose not out of natural circumstances; it was 
not taught in the schools of the philosophers. 
It was infinitely superior to any thing human, 
inspiring him with sublime and heavenly sen- 
timents, and dictating a noble, generous, and 
virtuous conduct. 

The faith exercised by Moses was, no doubt, 
the result of maternal instructions. Placed 
under his mother's care in his infancy, she had 
a favorable opportunity of forming his mind to 
a reliance and divine faith in his Maker. By 
initiating him into the religion of his ances- 
tors, she prepared him to act in the spirited 
manner represented in the text, and opened 
the way for an elevation of character unat- 
tainable on worldly principles, or through 
means unsanctioned by divine providence. 

By faith he was taught to despise empty 
and unavailing honors— honors limited in their 
duration, unsatisfying in their nature, and per- 
nicious in their consequences — pleasures that 
like the tender flowrets of spring look lovely 
and inviting for a season, but soon wither and 
die. The faith by which Moses was influen- 
ced, not only produced these extraordinary 
results, but it also opened upon his soul the 
visions of immortality. By faith he passed 



116 

into the holy of holies, and stood, in the per- 
ceptions of a sanctified mind, before that 
great Being, who is invisible to material or- 
gans. There he beheld the glorious recom- 
pense, the substantial reward, the eternal rest, 
the heavenly inheritance. He had respect to 
these — they were esteemed worthy his chief 
regard and most ardent love — objects for 
which no sacrifice was too dear or to great to 
hazard. The renown and celebrity he ob- 
tained as the saviour, legislator, and chief of 
a mighty nation, were not thrown into the 
scale. They had no connexion with the faith 
eulogized by the Apostle. They occupy a 
distinct and separate place in the history of 
Moses. He acted in view of eternal things, 
in reference to a future state, and under the 
superintendence and direction of unerring 
wisdom. Without faith it is impossible to 
please God. Faith is the Christian's shield; 
while covered with this armor he remains se- 
cure — the malignant arrows of sin and satan 
fall harmless at his feet. Faith nerves the 
Christian with superhuman energy ; and gives 
him strength to remove mountains. The dash- 
ings of the huge billows and the frantic rav- 
ings of the tempest are breasted by him who 
reposes unbounded confidence in the rock of 
his salvation ; and, at last, having overcome 
all enemies, his song of praise echoes from the 
cloudless towers of the JNew Jerusalem. 



117 

By faith the ancients acquired a knowledge 
of the true God, and obtained a good report. 
Through faith we understand the worlds were 
framed by the word of God. By faith Abel 
offered unto God a more acceptable sacrifice 
than Cain— Enoch was translated that he 
should not see death, and Noah, being warn- 
ed by God of things not seen as yet. moved 
with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of 
his house. Abraham by faith journeyed into 
a strange land, not knowing whither he went. 
By faith Isaac was offered up — Jacob and 
Esau blessed concerning things to come. By 
faith Jacob when he was dying blessed both 
the sons of Joseph, and worshipped leaning 
upon the top of his staff. By faith the walls 
of Jericho were levelled with their founda- 
tions. Actuated and upheld by this pre-emi- 
nently powerful principle, millions of martyrs 
have cheerfully suffered the spoiling of their 
goods, and even laid down their lives with joy. 

From the illustrious examples we have ad- 
duced we learn that, without the faith of the 
Gospel, 

tl Were we possessors of the earth, 
And called the stars our own,'* — 

we should be poor indeed— our hopes of hea- 
ven groundless and our wishes vain. 

We also learn that decision is a very im- 
portant and necessary ingredient in the cha- 



118 

racter of him who would be on the Lord's 
side. Fluctuating principles are valuless. 
To halt between God and mammon is a mark 
of weakness and a sure prelude to destruc- 
tion. If the Lord be God, serve him. Let 
us, then, be prompt and decided, firm to our 
purpose, and altogether persuaded to be Chris- 
tians. 

Self-denial is another lesson we are taught 
by the conduct of Moses. It is essentially ne- 
cessary to our happiness. If any man will be 
my disciple, let him deny himself, take up his 
cross and follow me, are the words of Jesus. 
Without this we cannot obtain the friendship 
of God. When self rules, anarchy is abroad, 
religion is despised, and the Almighty disre- 
garded; but when this usurper is dethroned, 
and he, whose right it is to reign, ascends the 
throne of our affections, order and peace are 
restored-— the soul breathes a pure atmosphere, 
and holds glorious communion with a present 
God. 

Finally — the picture which we have endea- 
voured to sketch should make deep impres- 
sions on the mind. The assemblage of vir- 
tues which adorn the character of Moses, the 
brilliant and the mild, blended together in 
sweet harmony, are worthy of the noblest 
emulation and the highest praise. Although 
we may never rise to the same eminence with 
this Bible saint, or be called upon to make 



119 

such great sacrifices, we cannot expect to live 
even a brief life without passing through wa- 
ters of affliction and being tried by the strong- 
est temptations. In the humbler walks of 
life, where the current seems to run smooth- 
ly, men experience the usual portion of sor- 
row and suffering as their entailed inheritance. 
At such times the strength of religious princi- 
ple is a powerful and necessary auxiliary in 
guarding the heart and influencing the prac- 
tice. Without it we are involved in perplexi- 
ty and doubt, left to the uncontrolled exercise 
of unsanctified affections and vain imagina- 
tions, treasuring up wrath against the day of 
wrath. How necessary, then, that we should 
follow the example of Moses, and secure the 
friendship and favor of the divine Being by an 
early and decided renunciation of everything, 
however dear, that might compete with a de- 
voted attachment to his religion and laws. 
We should make our choice, and make it 
without delay. There are no barriers to ob- 
struct us; no powerful, inherent inability with 
which to contend. The throne of our hea- 
venly Father is open to our complaints and 
cries ; the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is at 
hand to remedy every evil propensity of our 
nature. The supplies of the Gospel are rich 
and abounding. By the exercise of faith we 
may conquer every foe, pursue our journey 



120 

through the wilderness of sin in safety, and ar- 
rive, at last, through death's dreary portals, 
into the promised Canaan. 



Psalm xxvi. 8. 

Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place 
where thine honor dwelleth. 

The patriarchs, the prophets, and other 
holy men, from the earliest ages of the world, 
have had the highest veneration for those 
places where the name of Jehovah was re- 
corded, or where he made special exhibitions 
of his power and goodness. 

Although their example, in this respect, is 
worthy of our imitation, yet there is great 
danger arising from an undue attachment to 
particular places, without an abiding remem- 
brance that it is not the house we are to wor- 
ship, but that God who hallows the house; 
nor its beauty that we are to admire, but the 
"beauty of the Lord." How solitary seemed 
the sepulchre and the garden to Mary, when 
she perceived not her Lord ! What is this 
terrestrial paradise, without his presence — 

11 



122 

what would heaven be without his smiles? 
Answer, ye veterans of the cross — answer ye 
blood-washed company — ye bright angelic 
spirits ! It is the Master we are to seek in the 
assembly of his saints — the God of all the 
earth. This was the object of the Psalmist, 
whose soul, attuned to holy meditation, and in 
the chastened transports of exalted thought, 
sings, " One thing have I desired of the Lord, 
that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the 
house of the Lord all the days of my life, to 
behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire 
in his temple. For a day in thy courts is bet- 
ter than a thousand ; I had rather be a door 
keeper in the house of my God, than to dwell 
in the tents of wickedness." " I have loved" 
he continues, " the habitation of thy house, 
and the place where thine honor dwelleth/' 
Deeply impressed with these sentiments, and 
awed into the most profound reverence, we 
bow before a present God, humbly imploring 
his divine aid to assist us in dedicating a tem- 
ple to his service. We shall inquire, 

I. What is implied in loving the habitation 
of the Lord's house? 

II. Why do holy men love his habitation? 
and then proceed to the main object of our 
present meeting. 

1. What is implied in loving the habitation 
of the Lord's house? To love the habita- 



123 

tion of the Lord, implies a knowledge of the 
Lord Jesus Christ, as God manifest in the 
flesh — Emmanuel, God with us — the Wonder- 
ful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Ever- 
lasting Father, the Prince of Peace. 

It implies a knowledge of him, as the image 
of the invisible God, the first born of every 
creature: for by him were all things created 
that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visi- 
ble and invisible, whether they be thrones, or 
dominions, or principalities, or powers: all 
things were created by him, and for him: and 
he is before all things, and by him all things 
consist. And without him was not any thing 
made that was made. Behold his footsteps in 
the sea; hear his thunderings borne upon the 
viewless winds, and read the traces of his hand 
on yonder blue expanse ! 

" The spacious earth and spreading flood 
Proclaim the wise, the powerful God ; 
And his rich glories from afar, 
Sparkle in every rolling star." 

It implies a knowledge of him as our pro- 
phet, priest and king, who of God is made unto 
us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and 
redemption. He hath made him to be sin for 
us, who knew no sin, that we might be made 
the righteousness of God in him. For ye 
know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that 
though he was rich, yet for your sake he be- 



124 

came poor, that ye, through his poverty, might 
be rich. 

" Darkness his curtain, and his bed the dust. 
When stars and sun were dust beneath his throne, 
He seized our dreadful right ; the load sustained, 
And heav'd the mountain from a guilty world ; 
A thousand worlds so bought, were bought too dear. 1 ' 

Here we pause, we wonder, we admire. 
Our souls are swallowed up in contemplating 
the blaze of that stupendous love of Christ, 
which the cruel hatred of an ungrateful world 
could not extinguish; that astonishing meek- 
ness which no malicious treatment could over- 
whelm; that wonderful patience which bore 
the bitterest taunts, and the most excruciating 
tortures without a murmur; and above all — 
that unprecedented spirit of forgiveness which 
invites poor sinners to take shelter in that bo- 
som they had covered with scars, and wraps 
them up in the folds of its love and mercy ! 

" Bound every heart, and every bosom burn ; 
Praise flow forever — if astonishment 
Will give thee leave— my praise forever flow, 
Eternity too short to speak thy praise, 
Or fathom thy profound of love to man." 

Our love of the Lord's house is implied by 
our diligent attendance, while there, on his 
ordinances. This attendance must be given, 
not as a matter of mere formality in compli- 
ance with the prevailing custom. We may 
be punctual in our observance of the external 
duties of the house of God, and yet have nei- 



125 

ther part nor lot in the matter. They are not 
all Israel, who are of Israel. Indeed an ex- 
perimental knowledge of the truth as it is in 
Jesus, and a devotional frame of mind, are in- 
separably connected with the true worship 
of God. Without this necessary qualification, 
we shall not be capable of perceiving the per- 
fections of his character, as they are reflected 
through the rich variety of ways by which he 
communicates his grace to the soul. 

You must not only show yourselves zealous 
in the love of the Lord's house, by beingpresent 
on all proper occasions; but you must pray 
fervently to the God of all grace, that the 
word here dispensed may be attended by the 
demonstration of the Spirit, and with power; 
that here sinners may be awakened, souls 
converted, and christians built up in their most 
holy faith. With all this, you must enter the 
field yourselves, and aid your ministers, not 
by your prayers alone, but by the most ardu- 
ous and unremitting efforts, to press upon 
your fellow 7 men the importance of those truths 
which are announced and enforced from the 
pulpit. Indeed such is their importance, so 
tremendous their consequences, involving the 
destinies of all around you, that they deserve 
your most earnest attention. Soon, very soon, 
it may be lamented that our opportunities for 
doing good are lost in the surge of that oblivi- 

11* 



126 

ous wave which overwhelms all present things. 
But, 

II. Why do holy men love the habitation of 
the Lord's house ? Because it is " the place 
where his honor dwelleth." There, he is 
eminently present as the father of his family. 
There, are the emanations of his countenance, 
and the rich droppings of the heavenly manna. 
He, who has promised to supply all the wants 
of his people, is there. He giveth liberally 
and upbraideth not. He is there, who is per- 
fectly acquainted with all their trials, sorrows 
and afflictions. Are they wrecked, and plun- 
dered of every joy? are they friendless, 
wretched and forlorn? Even for them there 
is a season of rest, a reciprocation of feeling 
in the dear Redeemer. For he was a man of 
sorrows, and acquainted with grief. How 
well qualified, then, is such a High Priest, 
touched as he is with the feeling of our infir- 
mities, to pour the oil of consolation into the 
wounded spirit, and to bind up the broken 
heart! 

In the christian's temple, there is a holy of 
holies, a sacred retreat, a Bethel where the 
disencumbered, disenthralled soul finds access 
to the sprinkled throne of mercy, and com- 
munes with a present God. Here the veil of 
the invisible world is gently lifted up, and the 
devout christian is discovered by angels in 



127 

audience with the Deity: for truly our fellow- 
ship is with the Father, and with his son Jesus 
Christ. 

Holy men love the habitations of the Lord, 
because in his courts their ears were first sa- 
luted with the glad tidings of peace and sal- 
vation. There, the day-spring from on high 
visited their benighted souls. There, God met 
them, took their feet from the horrible pit, 
placed them on the rock of ages, and put a new 
song in their mouths, even praise to God. 
There too, they have fed in green pastures, 
and have drank copiously of the pure streams 
of the river of life, which make glad the city 
of our God. 

Christians love the habitation of the Lord ? s 
house, because there they ripen for heaven. It 
is the gate through which they pass to the hea- 
venly city. Here the weary pilgrim is pointed 
to the summit of those everlasting hills, where 
the followers of the Lamb are forever at rest. 
Here a reverential awe, with all the silent 
heaven of love, pervades, tranquillizes, and 
elevates his soul. Here the sublimated mind, 
rising from earth, soars by faith far beyond 
the limits of our world, enters the third hea- 
ven, and basks in the beams of uncreated bliss. 
Here the saints of God shall recover from the 
pollutions of their nature, and expatiate on 
the beauty and the sublimity of divine knowl- 
edge. Here their souls shall be imbued with 



128 

an unction from on high, and glow with the 
pure flame of holy love. Here they shall an- 
ticipate the joys of the heavenly world. And 
when they shall have left this earthly taberna- 
cle, and are translated to the region of light 
and love — that building of God, that house not 
made with hands, eternal in the heavens, they 
shall then claim kindred with the spirits of 
just men made perfect, mingle with the re- 
deemed of the Lord, and surround his throne 
with unceasing praise. 

On this interesting occasion, I am led to ad- 
mire the goodness of God, in preserving his 
true worship through every age of the world. 
Sacrifices were offered by the children of 
men, almost from the creation to the deliver- 
ance of Israel from Egyptian bondage. Hea- 
ven's court was held on the summit of Sinai. 
While encircled with the insignia of the great 
God, the Jewish legislator received the com- 
mandments written on tables of stone, as also 
the law, and a minute description of the taber- 
nacle which he was commanded to erect for 
Jehovah to dwell in. 

At the dedication of the temple bySolomon, 
the glory of the Lord filled the house of the 
Lord, so that the priests themselves could not 
enter. Such was the overwhelming influence 
of the King of kings and Lord of lords, that 
the children of Israel bowed themselves with 
their faces to the ground, upon the pavement, 



129 

and worshipped and praised the Lord, saying, 
for he is good; for his mercy endureth for- 
ever. 

Although the second temple was inferior to 
that built by Solomon, in splendor and magni- 
ficence ; yet it was rendered more glorious by 
the appearance of the desire of all nations 
within its walls. 

We do not read of any particular houses set 
apart for public worship among the primitive 
christians. It is probable there were none. 
The circumstances of danger with which they 
were surrounded, necessarily obliged them to 
consult their own safety by resorting to such 
places as were best calculated to secure them 
from the evil designs of their enemies. In 
process of time, however, a new order of 
things arose. The churches of Christ became 
rich, and increased in goods, having need of 
nothing. This state of outward prosperity 
contributed in no small degree, to debase the 
character and pervert the principles of Chris- 
tianity. Its true spirit evaporated. Its priests 
sunk into a state of apathy, pride, and worldly 
mindedness. Idolatry, superstition, and big- 
otry mingled unhallowed rites with the purity 
and simplicity of apostolic worship; and ar- 
rayed themselves in all the pomp and glitter 
of external forms and ceremonies. 

While the christian church was thus en- 
wrapt in the mists of visionary fanaticism, 



130 

and almost wholly obscured in the darkest 
gloom, a light from heaven broke upon the as- 
tonished world. It was the light of truth ! It 
penetrated the cloisters of the venerable re- 
formers of the fifteenth century, warmed their 
hearts, irradiated their minds, and led them 
in safety through the perils of a dreadful tem- 
pest under the thunders of the Vatican. 

They came forth clothed in all the majesty 
of pure and undefiled religion, and with holy 
boldness denounced the sins, and exposed 
the corruptions of the church. Theirs was no 
strange fire; no enthusiasm caught from the 
spirit of the times. It was a flame from God's 
altar; communicated to their souls while sur- 
rounded by the presence of him who dwelt in 
the bush. 

Nothing could withstand these valiant de- 
fenders of the faith once delivered to the 
saints. Ignorance and error fled before them. 
The proud champions of religious intolerance 
were discomfited; the battle was turned back 
to the gate, and the banners of oppression no 
longer waved over half the European world. 
It is true, the most desperate efforts were made, 
and the most cruel means resorted to, in order 
to stop the influence of the spirit and exam- 
ple of the reformers. But the torture and the 
faggot, the dungeon and the inquisition, all 
proved ineffectual The blood of the martyrs 
refreshed the garden of the Lord. Another 



131 

and another host of heroes rose as from their 
ashes. They joined the armies of the cross ; 
the spirit of the holy prophets fell upon them. 
They burst the fetters of superstition — they 
shook the temples of Dagon — they raised the 
song of triumph — they shouted victory! 

Our American Israel has caught the hal- 
lowed sound, and from her thousand thousand 
cloud-capt hills, echoed back the holy an- 
them. Nor has the theme died upon our lips. 
We can still sweep the harp of Zion. The 
magnificent concert still reverberates along 
our shores. It strikes the vault of heaven, and, 
on the wings of every wind, wafts new gospel 
tidings to the land of our fathers. 

" Salvation! let. the echo fly 

The spacious earth around ; 
While all the armies of the sky 
Conspire to raise the sound.'' 

Two centuries only have transmitted their 
records to the courts of heaven since this land 
was tenanted by cruel hordes of savages. No 
smiling hamlet then cheered the eye. No 
holy sanctuary invited the weary to its shel- 
tering bosom: 

" The sound of the church-going bell, 

Those valleys and hills never heard ; 
"Never sighed at the sound of a knell, 
Nor smiled when a sabbath appeared." 

But lo! another scene opens on our view. 
This vast region, late a howling wilderness, 



132 

now smiling in all the beauty of Eden, is 
spreading forth on every side her fertile fields, 
and healthful skies, to support and cherish 
the rose of Sharon planted in her bosom. This 
is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our 
eyes. Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt, 
thou hast cast out the heathen and planted it, 
thou didst cause it to take deep root, and it 
filled the land; the hills were covered with its 
shadow, and the boughs thereof were like the 
goodly cedar. 

This is a country favored of the Lord. 
Here he has set up his standard, proclaimed 
his name, and is establishing his everlasting 
kingdom. In these United States, no despotic 
laws bind the conscience; no galling chains 
fetter the soul. A broad, generous and liberal 
system of government opens a wide and effec- 
tual door for the preaching of the Gospel. It 
rears its fostering rampart around religions of 
every name ; and affords shelter, and extends 
its protection equally to all, without distinc- 
tion and without partiality. Truly then our 
lines have fallen in pleasant places. 

Is not this a land of Bibles .^ are they not 
scattered over this vast continent? Though 
silent and unostentatious in their progress, they 
are extending their influence in every direc- 
tion, enlightening the mind of m&n, and pre- 
paring him for the reception of an indwelling 
God. 



133 

Behold ! the Angel of the Church, having 
the everlasting Gospel to preach to all the 
dwellers upon earth, has visited our distant 
settlements, even now he is lighting on the 
isles of the sea, evangelizing the heathen 
world, arresting the car of Juggernaut in 
its cursed, immolating progress, and push- 
ing the victories of the cross to earth's re- 
motest bounds. 

We have Bible and Sunday school institu- 
tions; marine, mite, and tract societies; as- 
sociations for the relief of the widow, and the 
orphan; with many others, all directing their 
energies to promote one grand object ; like 
the rays of light emanating from one source, 
and pouring a flood of divine glory on the in- 
habitants of our world. 

Here then, in this goodly land, we have 
found out a place for Jehovah to dwell in. 
This altar we consecrate — this edifice we 
hallow. We dedicate this house to "the King 
eternal, immortal and invisible, the only wise 
God.'* We devote it to that Being whom the 
heaven of heavens cannot contain^ who yet 
deigns to be present where two or three are 
assembled in his name. God is here. He 
who dwelt between the cherubim, the Being 
of beings, the God of love is beholding us. 

Then let us bow with reverence, and may 
ministering angels attend, while we raise this 

12 



134 

stone of our Ebenezer, and pouring forth the 
incense of grateful joy, call this God's House. 
And now, what wait we for? Is the Lord's 
arm shortened, that he cannot save? Is his 
ear heavy, that he cannot hear? No, verily. 
He is unchangeably the same, yesterday, to- 
day, and forever: — the same being who dried 
up the waters of the great deep, and made a 
way for the ransomed of the Lord to pass 
over; the same who thundered from Sinai, 
wept in the garden of agony, hung on the 
cross, entered the prisons of the grave, burst 
the bars of death, and, loaded with the spoils 
of the cruel monster, rose triumphant to the 
right hand of the Majesty on high. Awake, 
then, awake; put on strength, O Arm of the 
Lord ! Aw r ake as in the ancient days, in the 
generations of old ! 

What a moment is this, fraught with the 
most awfully interesting consequences to all 
present ! Both saint and sinner are deeply 
involved in the issue of the negotiations here 
commenced on this auspicious day. 

My hearers ! we preach in the view of the 
eternal world, in the view of devils, in the 
presence of men, of angels, and of the God of 
angels. Our subject is not confined to the 
fate of nations, or the rise and fall of empires. 
It does not regard merely this life's short span. 
It crosses death's narrow isthmus, extends to 



135 

the last judgment, and terminates only at the 
dissolution of worlds. 

And will you, who are without God and 
without hope in the world, pass these things 
by as the trifles of an hour? You, who with 
a swift, though insensible motion, are gliding 
down the current of time, into the boundless 
ocean of eternity? Art thou still asleep in 
thy fragile bark, dreaming of perpetual sun- 
shine amidst the veering winds that war a- 
round thee ! Be warned of your danger, lest 
the terrors of the second death overtake you, 
and the Eternal God swear in his wrath thou 
shalt not enter into his rest. 

O sinner ! hast thou turned away from the 
house of God? hast thou despised the place 
where his honor dwelleth ? or hast thou visi- 
ted his house in vain? hast thou neglected 
thine immortal soul? — Why lingerest thou on 
forbidden ground? Why tarriest thou in all 
the plain? The Angel of the covenant com- 
mands thee to flee — yea, to flee for thy life — 
to flee to the mountain ! He points thee to 
Calvary ! Away then, speedily, to the friend 
of sinners, while it is called to-day; ere the 
night cometh, the night of death, when the sun 
of thy probation shall have set to rise no more 
forever. 

Sinners ! the hour is coming when the fear- 
ful midnight cry, ye dead arise, and come to 
judgment !— shall pierce the tombs of your fa- 



136 

thers; — when a drowsy world shall start from 
their guilty slumbers ; — when the chambers of 
the sky shall be thrown open ;- — the everlast- 
ing doors give way, and the descending Jesus 
appear in the clouds of heaven, with power 
and great glory, to judge the quick and dead. 



-From his great abode, 



Full or a whirlwind rides the dreadful God : 

The tempest's rattling winds, the fiery car, 

Ten thousand hosts his ministers of war ; 

The flaming Cherubim attend his flight, 

And heaven's foundations groan beneath the weight." 

There is but one door of hope for thy es- 
cape; but one ark of safety for thy sinking 
soul. That door we throw open, this day: — 
into that ark we earnestly invite thee. Here 
then you may touch the golden sceptre. This 
may be your birth place, the vestibule through 
which you may pass to the bosom of rejected 
love and mercy : — listening angels here wait 
to catch the first accents of your repentant 
prayer, and from these portals bear the joyful 
tidings to the courts above. And why not now 
return? — Even now the word of the Lord may 
fall like cloven tongues upon this assembly ; — 
even now the soft breezes of God's mercy may 
waft the odour of a Saviour's love to your 
hearts, and breathe life into these slain. Your 
heavenly Joseph waits to make himself known 
to you. God hath sent him to preserve you. 
He desires to call you brethren. May this 
temple be indeed dedicated by the return of 



137 

some poor starving prodigal this day to his 
father's house ! 

My beloved brethren let us continue to love 
the habitation ofthe Lord's house — the place 
where his honor dwelleth. Take heed to your 
ways lest at any time you make shipwreck of 
faith and of a good conscience. Hold fast the 
form of sound words; let no man deceive you 
through philosophy and vain deceit, after the 
traditions of men, after the rudiments of the 
world, and not after Christ. Let not the so- 
phistry of that proud reasoning which is em- 
ployed and controlled by the impenitent, sel- 
fish heart, lead you astray. Watch, lest you 
founder on the quicksands of metaphysical di- 
vinity, or are dashed against the rocks of mo- 
dern skepticism. Be cautious how you hear, 
how you speak, how you receive. Prove all 
things; but do this by the word of God, stu- 
died with prayer for divine teaching. This is 
the way to acquire not prevalent opinions on 
religious subjects; but a practical knowledge 
of the truth. Pursue this method with a hum- 
ble heart and an obedient life, and you will 
ever stand on firm and safe ground ; for if any 
man will do his will, he shall know ofthe doc- 
trine whether it be of God. Here then fix 
your determined stand, and hold fast that 
which is good, rejecting all else, Cleave to 
the purity, the simplicity, the vitality of the 
Gospel Aim at primitive Christianity, that 

12* 



138 

which can be known, and felt, and realized; 
that which was taught by Christ and his apos- 
tles:— by Wesley, and Whitefield, and Ten- 
nant, and Coke, with many other worthies, who 
have fought a good fight, kept the faith, fin- 
ished their course, and are now at rest from 
all their toils. , 

Be not satisfied with a good profession 
merely . Give to all with whom you associate 
a lucid and beautiful exhibition of the chris- 
tian character, by a well ordered life and con- 
versation. Be zealous for the honor of the 
cause which you have espoused. Be not 
ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of 
God, and the wisdom of God ; but always bear 
about with you the words of our Lord: who- 
soever therefore is ashamed of me and of my 
words, of him also shall the Son of man be 
ashamed when he cometh in the glory of his 
Father with the holy angels. 

Let not party zeal limit the full exercise of 
all those social sympathies so highly recom- 
mended by the Gospel. Cautiously avoid im- 
bibing the narrow feelings of pharisaical pro- 
fessors. These check the current of that be- 
nevolence which is the essence of our holy re- 
ligion, and which throws a halo of divine glo- 
ry around its doctrines and precepts — a reli- 
gion which is first pure, then peaceable, gen- 
tle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and 



139 

good fruits, without partiality, and without 
hypocrisy. 

Remember you are not partizans, but chris- 
tians. You are not of Paul, nor of A polios, 
nor of Cephas — but, of Christ. He hath bought 
you with his own most precious blood. You 
have enlisted under his banner. Then let love 
to God and good will to man be your motto. 
May this be inscribed on all your hearts; for 
upon these two precepts hang all the law and 
the prophets. 

Finally, my brethren, whenever you ap- 
proach this house, let it be that these holy 
precepts may be re-impressed more deeply on 
your hearts, and exhibited more distinctly in 
your lives. Always consider that you are 
about to appear before the self-existent, the. 
omnipresent Jehovah. Suffer no vain desires, 
no unhallowed thoughts, no unsanctified feel- 
ings to intrude upon your devotions. Com- 
mand every avenue to your souls, and when 
you find yourselves within the walls of this 
Zion, loose the sandals from off your feet, and 
know that you tread on holy ground. Here 
the Lord will speak peace to his people, and 
call poor sinners to repentance. Here he will 
meet you. Here he will clothe his priests 
with salvation, and here his saints shall shout 
aloud for joy. 

Let us, therefore, be steadfast, immoveable, 
always abounding in the work of the Lord. 



140 

And when the Sun of righteousness shall have 
dispelled the thick mists that encompass this 
habitation of mortals, and the kingdoms of 
this world shall have become the kingdoms of 
our Lord and of his Christ;— when nature, de- 
crepid with age, languishes for her burial, and 
the dark places of our earth tremble ;— when 
the dreadful trump of God shall have an- 
nounced the end of time, and the consumma- 
tion of all things, and heaven and earth shall 
pass away with a great noise; — thenyoushali 
mount with him through the fiery void, and in 
the full assembly of the saints, attended by 
an innumerable company of angels, enter into 
the splendid temple of the living God, shine 
as the brightness of the firmament in the king- 
dom of your Father, and join the myriads of 
the redeemed in ascribing might, and majesty, 
and dominion, to him that sitteth upon the 
throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever. 

Amen. 



THE JUDGMENT DAY. 

Our attention is not called to matters of a- 
speculative nature, nor are our feelings arrest- 
ed to pay the tribute of a tear or a sigh to 
the memory of the virtuous dead. It is not 
a splendid representation of empty trifles to 
which we are invited ; nor is our pencil dip- 
ped in the visionary colors of the poet. Ours 
is a loftier theme — a subject of stupendous 
moment, to which the events of millions of 
ages bear no proportion, and in which are in- 
volved the destinies of all mankind. 

Treading on consecrated ground we un- 
loose the sandals from off our feet, and with 
trembling hand lift the curtain of eternity. 

The drama of the Judgment day is our 
theme. 

44 That day of dread decision and despair ! 

'Tis present to my thoughts — yet where is it 1 
Angels can't tell me ; angels cannot guess 

The period, from created beings lock'd 
In darkness." 



142 



THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. 



As all great and terrible events in the natu- 
ral world are generally preceded by a stillness 
prophetic of their near approach, the eve pre- 
ceding that day for which all other days are 
made, will be calm and unruffled, and an 
unusual serenity will pervade creation: the 
heavenly bodies will shine out unrivalled in 
beauty, and perform their various revolu- 
tions with the same precision as when first 
formed, and not a speck or a cloud dim the 
vaulted skies. 

The awfully portentous day will open with 
the most tremendous displays of God's Eter- 
nal Majesty. Every thing which can strike 
terror to the heart of man will be introduced. 
Already every gem in the diadem of night is 
quenched in darkness — the king of day is shorn 
of his resplendent beams, and the pale, silvery 
light of the moon changed to a crimson, 
bloody hue. 

" In grandeur terrible all heaven descend, 
A swift archangel with his golden wing, 
As clouds and blots, that darken and disgrace 
The scene divine, sweeps stars and suns aside: 
And thus, all dross removM, heaven's own pure day 
Full on the confines of our ether flames." 

The trump of God will then be heard, thun- 
dering through the vast profound ; and in a 
moment, in the twinkling of an eye, monu- 
ments are burst asunder — the charnel houses 



143 

of the dead opened — the foundations of the 
great deep bared, and the dead, who had 
slept from time immemorial, bursting their 
bonds, start up in promiscuouss crowds, shak- 
ing off the slumber of ages, and awaking to 
endless joy or hopeless misery. 

" Such shall the noise be, and the wild disorder, 
If things eternal may be like things earthly, 
Such the dire terror when the great Archangel 
Shakes the creation." 

The Judge will then appear; the man who 
stood at Pilate's bar, the once afflicted, perse- 
cuted, and slain Jesus. But O, how changed! 
In majesty terrible, he descends with a shout, 
with the voice of the Archangel and the trump 
of God ; ten thousand thunders roll before 
him ; his precursors gleam far and wide over 
the heavens; myriads of dazzling squadrons 
of bright angelic spirits attend him to his burn- 
ing throne. Hallelujahs and acclamations of 
joy strike the lofty dome, and shake universal 
nature. 

No just nor adequate conceptions can be 
formed of the vastness and splendor of this 
august tribunal. The thrones of the sceptered 
Caesars, the arbiters of worlds, with all the 
pomp and magnificence of the universe dwin- 
dle into insignificance, vanity, and nothingness 
in comparison. Innumerable companies of 
angels and archangels, cherubim and seraphim, 
hang in rich and glorious clusters around it. 



144 

Flashes of fire issue from the Eternal's pre- 
sence, and flaming cherubs encircle his foot- 
stool. 

Before this tribunal we must all stand — all 
who have ever existed from the beginning of 
the world, and none shall be able to withstand 
or elude the summons. Were they to take 
the wings of the morning and fly to the remot- 
est regions of space and observation, or shroud 
themselves in -the dark abyss of that dreary 
gulf which separates hell from heaven, they 
would be sought out by the ministers of jus- 
tice and hurried into the presence of the judge 
of the quick and dead. No shelter will be 
afforded them in all the immensity of crea- 
tion, nor among the deep intricacies of un- 
bounded nature. Every hiding place will be 
explored and made manifest by that great 
Being with whom there is no darkness nor un- 
certainty, nothing hidden nor mysterious. 

We might as easily number the drops of the 
ocean, or the sands on its shores, the stars 
that glitter in the blue of heaven, or the leaves 
on the trees, as count the persons to be judged. 
Their number will exceed the utmost stretch 
of human calculation. 

If this earth bears at one time eight hund- 
red millions of souls, what a vast congregation 
will all the generations make which have suc- 
ceeded each other for near five thousand years 



145 

and may continue to people our world till the 
general judgment. 

All the inhabitants of other worlds, if there 
are any on those brilliant orbs floating in the 
immeasurable fields of space — they will hear 
the dreadful trump of God echoing from the 
portals of the sky, and crowd to meet him in 
the air. 

We must all stand there. The illustrious 
and the obscure— the soldier and statesman 
—the blooming youth and venerable sire- 
small and great — rich and poor. Death is no 
respecter of persons. He knows no distinc- 
tions among men. In a few short years we 
must pass off the stage of time and be swept 
into the oblivious wave, until, reanimated by 
the voice of God, we take our station before 
the great white throne, and tremble or re- 
joice to hear our final sentence. 

The day is broke which never more shall 
close. The great assize is come. The tute- 
lary and destroying angels are returned. They 
have stopped the wheels of time; they have 
unlocked the dreary prisons of the dead, and 
thrown open the gates of hell. The heavenly 
orders, with the saints who are to judge the 
world, are placed in shining circles, or on fiery 
chariots wait in silent, awful expectation. 
The long expected trial of men and wicked an- 
gels is begun. 

14 Psee the Judge enthron'd, the flaming guard, 

13 



146 

The volume opened, open'd every heart, 

A sunbeam pointing out each secret thought. * f 

A TREMBLING WORLD IS PLACED AT THE BAR. 

And now all that has been done in the body 
is made manifest, whether it was good or whe- 
ther it was evil. Every heart is bared, and 
the principles and emotions of every con- 
science exposed. The grand inquiry is made. 
What were the motives which actuated us in 
our several pursuits — the principles upon 
which we fixed our hopes, or raised our ex- 
pectations ? Were they of such a pure and 
evangelical nature as shall now bear the test 
— as shall now stand the fiery ordeal ? 

The hypocrite's hopes vanish into air — his 
thin disguise falls off, and all his false and 
borrowed beauty withers. To his horror and 
confusion, he is unmasked before those upon 
whom he had imposed by fair speeches and 
false pretensions to godliness. 

The blood-thirsty conqueror, the tyrannical 
and cruel monarch, the ermined noble, and the 
proud prelate, levelled now to the condition of 
the meanest slave, await their trial in dread 
uncertainty and despair — shuddering at the 
punishments which await them. 

See the promiscuous crowds — heaps on 
heaps are seen on every side, as far as eye 
can reach, or disembodied spirits ken — no 
measure to the lengthened space— no bounds, 



147 

no limits set. They wait, big with horror, and 
overwhelmed with despair. 

Here stands a group of frighted Jews — then- 
features distorted, and their bitter wailings the 
prelude to the beginnings and outbreakings of 
their approaching misery. 

There is a motley crew, apparently worked 
up to the most fearful looking for of wrath and 
indignation. Those are the men who dipped 
their pens in the waters of Meribah — who, in 
their sacrilegious phrenzy, called the blessed 
Jesus imposter, and whose impious tongues ut- 
tered the foulest blasphemies. 

Yonder is a multitude no man can number, 
composed of different grades of character, from 
all neutrals in religion down to the basest of 
the human race. 

On the right of these a glorious company 
advances. Numbers join them on every hand 
of various nations, kindreds, tongues, and peo- 
ple. Here are Europeans and Americans— 
the children of Africa — the sons and daughters 
of Asia, and the red tribes of the wilderness. 
Here are all colors, all degrees, and all orders 
of men. Who are these? — Their appearance 
bespeaks their origin celestial, and their birth 
divine. A calm serenity, a placid resignation, 
a holy joy sits triumphant on each brow. 

These are they who bathed their garments 
in dust and blood, having warred an honora- 
ble warfare, contended valiantly for the faith 



148 

of the Gospel, and, even in the hour of their 
greatest extremity, triumphed over the com- 
bined powers of earth and hell. Their near 
alliance to the Prince of the kings of the earth, 
is now acknowledged in the most public man- 
ner in the presence of men, and of angels, and 
of the God of angels. 

Behold that company of weather beaten, 
worn out veterans, coming forward like a 
mighty army, distinguished by their heroic 
bearing and scarred honors. Those are the 
patriarchs, the worthies of Israel, the holy 
prophets, the evangelists, the blessed mar- 
tyrs, the intrepid reformers in various ages of 
the christian church, the missionaries of the 
cross to heathen lands, the devoted and zea- 
lous ministers of Christ, whose valiant deeds 
are registered before the throne of God. 

And now all mysteries are unravelled. The 
dispensations of olden times rendered simple 
and easy. The mysterious scenery of Jewish 
and Gospel days displayed and explained be- 
fore the wondering eyes of all God's intelli- 
gences — and, in all the announcements of the 
divine character, in the various and hidden 
directions given to the complicated move- 
ments of the whole, are seen, mingled togeth- 
er like the colors of the rainbow in beautiful 
unison, the stern features of his justice, the 
mild traces of his love and mercy, and the 
brightest beamings of his majesty and glory, 



149 

The obscurity is removed from the history of 
the world, and the most perfect arrangement, 
symmetry and beauty are discoverable in all 
the ways, works, and designs of providence. 

The wicked stand confounded ; the apologi- 
sing and the sophist are silenced, and the infi- 
del abashed and humbled. They hear and 
see and know now, who the Almighty whom 
they rejected, despised and confronted, is; 
and begin to feel the full force of his vengeful 
arm. 

The trial closes, the great decision is made, 
the separation line drawn, and the sentence 
pronounced on the evil and the good. 

On the good. And then shall the king say 
unto them on his right hand, come, ye blessed 
of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared 
for you from the foundation of the world. 

Had we an angel's pencil, we might pour- 
tray the glory and the felicity, which will be 
the portion of the saints of God in the realms 
of uncreated light. But the brightest seraph 
before his throne, would be inadequate to the 
task. Shall we, then, poor mortals, whose 
powers are circumscribed, confined to earth, 
and clogged with the incumbrances of flesh, 
presumptuously aspire to paint the bliss, the 
joy, the full fruition of a state so glorious — a 
happiness so complete, so consummate ? 

On the evil. Here we are equally at a loss, 
nor are we able, to describe the horrors, the 

13* 



150 

sorrows of the despairing ones. Were it pos- 
sible for us to disclose the secrets of their pri- 
son-house, the discovery would conjure up fee- 
lings the most indescribable, the most terrific 
and heart appalling; none would be uninter- 
ested. The trifler would be awed into solem- 
nity; the careless and the unconcerned awa- 
kened and aroused. How fearfully should we 
look around us and ask the dreadful question, 
can we dwell in everlasting flames, or lie 
down in devouring fire? What heart search- 
ings would commence, what tears of true re- 
pentance deluge the footstool of mercy! What 
inward groanings — what bitter outcries — what 
fearful anticipations — what strong resolutions 
— what solemn promises of future amendment 
- — what fervent prayers— what overwhelming 
petitions ! Heaven would be assailed with 
holy violence; every heart would be pierced 
through and through with the most agonizing 
reflections, and heave sighs so piteous, and so 
mournful, that they would finally issue in gen- 
eral lamentations of sorrow and grief 

"Heaven gives the needful but neglected call ; 
What day, what hour, but knocks at human hearts 
To wake the soul to sense of future scenes." 

The execution of the sentence pronounced 
upon our world. For the heaven, and the 
earth, which are now, are reserved unto fire, 
against the day of judgment and perdition of 
ungodly men. 



151 

"At that destined hour, 



By the loud trumpet summon'd to the charge, 
See all the formidable sons of fire, 
Eruptions, earthquakes, comets, lightnings, play 
Their various engines, all at once disgorge 
Their blazing magazines, and take by storm 
This poor, terrestrial citadel of man." 

Those immense magazines of liquid fire, 
that are confined in the centre of the earth, 
will then burst forth with terrible explosions. 
iEtna and Vesuvius will open their huge jaws, 
and emit burning lava and fragments of rocks 
heated for destruction. Thick clouds of va- 
pour and smoke will roll down the hills and 
cover the distant plains. The elemental war 
commences. Fire and water, air and earth 
commingle together. Flashes of lightning in 
vivid streaks, gleam throughout creation.— 
Thunders break in every direction, and rat- 
tling peals succeed each other, till worlds from 
distant worlds re-echo dreadfully the direful 
clangor of the last agonies of dissolving nature. 
The towering mountains totter on their base; 
and earth, reeling from her centre, plunges in 
the fiery void. The curling volumes of liquid 
flame rise from the ruins of a burning world, 
and envelope all the realms of created nature. 

" The roaring winds 
Now blow a hurricane around our world — 
The dashing billows haughtily o'erleap 
Their ancient barriers, deluging the earth ! 
Fires from beneath, and meteors from above 
Portentous, unexpected, unexplained, 
Kindle beacons in the skies, and the old 
And crazy earth cracks even to her centre. 



152 

The pillars of our earth now tottering fall, 
And nature with a dim and sickly eye 
Awaits the close of all." 

And do we stand on the broken fragment 
of time unconcerned? Are we suspended in 
the vast immensity of space — hanging over 
the depths of an unfathomable ocean, whose 
rude billows ever roll and never find a resting 
place — trembling on the verge of an eternity 
in which we may be lost, and exposed to the 
peltings of the storms of incensed justice — and 
yet do we sleep — we for whom all earth and 
heaven are in alarm — the sole cause of this 
surrounding wreck, this cruel storm — this ele- 
mental war? 

The creation of a new heaven and a new 
earth.— And I saw, says the apocalyptic pro- 
phet, a new heaven and a new earth, for the 
first heaven and the first earth were past 
away. And I heard a great voice out of hea- 
ven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is 
with men, and he will dwell with them and 
they shall be his people, and God himself 
shall be with them, and be their God. And 
I heard as it were the voice of a great multi- 
tude, and as the voice of many waters, and 
as the voice of mighty thunde rings, saying, 
Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reign- 
eth. 

The everlasting doors give way, and the 
splendid city of the living God appears glit- 



153 

tering with gold, and shining with precious 
stones. 

The blood washed company advances with 
crowns of gold upon their heads, and palms of 
victory in their hands, robed in the glorious 
garments of righteousness, attended by harp- 
ers harping on their harps, and angels hym- 
ning with celestial melody. 

The triumphal chariot of the all-conquer- 
ing Emmanuel, attended by the hosts of hea- 
ven, and the myriads of the redeemed, gains 
the suburbs of paradise ; it enters through the 
gates of the city; the streets of the New Je- 
rusalem are thronged. The celestial light of 
eternity falls in lovely splendor on the golden 
streets; no sun is needed in those blessed 
realms, for theglory of God and of the Lamb, 
like a mantle, shall forever cover the holy 
hill of Zion. Immortality throws an enchant- 
ing beauty over the countless millions of 
earth's redeemed ones, and the voice of their 
sorrow breaks out no more. 

The emerald gates close. He which testi- 
fieth these things saith, surely I come quickly ; 
Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus, 



EZEKIBL, XXXVll. 4. 

O ye dry bones, hear ye the word of the Lord, 

These words, in their historical relation, 
have a primary reference to the restoration 
of the Jews; but spiritually considered, they 
are intended for our instruction in godliness, 
to make us wise unto salvation. 

THE PRINCIPAL FEATURES OF A TRUE PROPHET. 

The hand of the Lord was upon him. The 
hand of the Lord implies power. The Lord 
commissions and empowers men whom he 
chooses to declare salvation to a lost world. 
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon them, and 
they are anointed to preach the Gospel. Yea, 
even necessity is laid upon them, and a wo 
denounced against them, if they preach not the 
Gospel, It is asked, How can they preach 
unless they be sent? The Almighty answers 



156 

the question, and assumes the prerogative of 
sending ministers into his vineyard wholly to 
himself. I will send, says he, by whom I will 
send. Hence^the church of England, in her 
ordination service, very properly requires 
candidates for the ministry to declare them- 
selves inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost to 
preach the Gospel. The first feature, then, 
by which we can distinguish a true prophet, is 
in the authority by which he officiates. 

And these signs shall follow. The effect 
will be equal to the cause. If God sends the 
prophet, and authorises him to preach, the 
spirit of the prophecy and the divine illumi- 
nation from above will attend his word.— 
There will be a voice within a voice. The 
signs of his apostleship will accompany him — 
the sound of his Master's footsteps will be 
heard behind him. For God sends no minis- 
ter a warfare at his own charge. He promises 
to be with them to the end, that his word 
which they speak shall not return void, but 
accomplish the great purpose for which it 
was intended. 

This divine authority, accompanying the 
word to the hearts and consciences of men, 
is the touchstone; for we fail in preaching 
without the assistance of the Holy Spirit. It 
is the Spirit which makes alive, the letter only 
kills. 

11 The still small voice is wanted ; He must speak, 



157 

Whose word at once leaps forth to its effect, 

Who calls for things that are not, and they come. 1 ' 

Human learning, without divine aid, is vain, 
is idle. Our discourses may be correct and 
beautiful, richly embellished with the flowers 
of literature ; regular in all their parts, and 
combining every thing grand and sublime in 
their composition, but without the accompa- 
nying influences of the good Spirit, they will 
be like sounding brass or the tinkling of a 
cymbal. The Gospel which cannot be felt 
and realised, and has no power in it, is not 
the Gospel which was taught by our Lord and 
his disciples, nor the Gospel which has brought 
life and immortality to light. — The next fea- 
ture of the true prophet is the energy and spi- 
rit by which he is animated. 

He has a discovery of the state of mankind 
by nature. And die prophet was set down in 
the midst of the valley, and he was caused 
to pass by them and round about them, and 
behold, there were very many in the open val- 
ley, and lo, they were very dry. 

He has a lively representation of the wretch- 
ed, ruined, and undone state of his fellow men. 
He sees the millions who are lying composed 
and apparently contented in the open valley 
of an unconverted state. He sees the sword 
of God drawn upon them. He reads the hand 
writing which condemns them. He hears the 
fiery law denouncing its vengeance and utter- 

14 



158 

ing its anathemas. Knowing, therefore, the 
terror of the Lord, he persuades men. With 
earnestness, accompanied by tears and prayers 
he implores poor impenitent sinners to be re- 
conciled to God, lest, by persisting in their 
rebellion, they should be suddenly consumed 
and destroyed without remedy. Deeply im- 
bued with a sense of man's fallen and undone 
condition, and seeing no way of recovery, 
save by an entire, full, and instant submission 
to the requirements of the Gospel, he shakes 
them with the thunders of the world to come, 
and ringing the dreadful peal which announces 
perdition to the finally incorrigible, never gives 
up his suit till they have grounded their wea- 
pons of warfare, and paid their vows at the 
feet of the Crucified. Love for immortal souls 
is another most important feature by which a 
true prophet of the Lord is distinguished. 

He is obedient to the heavenly command. 
So I prophesied as I was commanded. Then 
I said I will speak no more in his name, but 
his word was a fire shut up in my bones, and 
I was weary with forbearing, and I could not 
stay. He may tremble in view 7 of his great 
responsibility, and exclaim with Jeremiah, 
Ah, Lord God, I cannot speak, for I am but a 
child — or with the great apostle, Who is suf- 
ficient for these things? But encouraged by 
the voice of Him who dwelt in the bush, say- 
ing, Be not afraid of their faces, for I am with 



159 

thee to deliver thee — fear not, be strong, quit 
you like men; for I am with thee always, and 
I will be a mouth and a wisdom to thee; — he 
puts the trumpet to his lips, and sounds an 
alarm on the heights of Zion. Like Moses, 
he stands up in the gate of the camp of Israel, 
and cries aloud, Who is on the Lord's side? 
— and fearlessly delivers his message, regard- 
less of the tide of popular opinion, the number, 
strength, or prowess of his enemies, 

A true prophet is sent of God, and quali- 
fied with all necessary gifts and graces to ren- 
der him an able and successful minister of the 
covenant of mercy. 

THE CHARACTERS TO WHOM HE IS SENT TO 
PROPHECY. 

They are here represented under the figure 
of dry bones. Son of man, these dry bones 
are the whole house of Israel. 

They were dead. It is written, man is dead 
in trespasses and sins. To be carnally mind- 
ed is death. By one man sin entered into the 
world, and death by sin, and so death hath 
passed upon all men, for all have sinned. 
Not merely temporal but spiritual death, be- 
ing a separation from God by reason of sin. 
For sin entering into every power of the soul, 
has contaminated the whole man, binding him 
up in ignorance, unbelief, and folly, and exer- 
cising a most unnatural dominion over all his 



160 

energies and faculties. But as in every par- 
ticle of matter there is a principle of fire, so 
in dead sinners there is a principle of life, a 
dim perception of divine light, an emanation 
from that light which lighteth every man that 
cometh into the world. This is the grace of 
God which hath appeared unto all men. 

They were very dry. This is highly expres- 
sive of the sinner's lamentable condition. — 
Having no spiritual life, that is, none in ac- 
tion, no spiritual enjoyment. Not being graft- 
ed in Christ, the true and living Vine, they 
are without proper nourishment; and must, in 
time, if not resuscitated, become dead branch- 
es, parched, and the living principle wholly 
extinct, to be cast out into the valley of des- 
pair and gathered up and thrown into that fire 
prepared for the devil and his angels. And 
inasmuch as branches thus severed will grad- 
ually die of themselves and become useless, or 
fit only for the fire, so will poor sinners, if they 
neglect the day of grace, and trifle with the 
merciful offers of salvation. 

They were in the open valley. One of their 
proper places, not answering the great ends 
for which they were created, being originally 
formed for the noblest purposes, even for the 
love and enjoyment of the great God. How 
can men be said to answer these ends, if they 
take every method they can devise to banish 
the important concerns of a future state from 



161 

their minds, serving sin and following the de- 
vices and desires of their own evil hearts, and 
that continually ; permitting the God of this 
world to usurp that place in their affections 
which is the rightful throne of the sovereign 
of the universe. Such a course of conduct is 
irrational. It throws man out of his proper 
orbit, mars his relations to God, to other 
beings, and himself, lessens the force of moral 
obligation, counteracts the gracious designs of 
his Creator, rendering him a burden and an 
embarrassment in the scale of moral and in- 
tellectual existence. 

They had no sinews, nor flesh, nor cover- 
ing upon them. Not even the form of godli- 
ness, nor the slightest mark or token by which 
the prophet could distinguish them as hu- 
man. What a fit resemblance do they bear to 
outrageous, incorrigible offenders, who have 
thrown off all religious restraint, and make it 
their study to ridicule the operations of the di- 
vine Spirit. How many beings live in a man- 
ner worse than brutes ! What a monster is 
the man who is forgetful of his God ! A 
wonder amongst the beasts that perish !— 
above them with respect to intelligence and 
rationality; but far below them in answering 
the purposes of his high and noble origin. — 
Who would trifle on a scaffold, or frolic in the 
midst of devouring flames? None but fools 
or madmen ! 

14* 



162 

"'Tisa fearful spectacle to see 
So many maniacs dancing in their chains ; 
They gaze upon the links that hold them fast 
With eyes of anguish, execrate their lot; 
Then shake them in despair, and dance again." 

They were in their graves^ surrounded with 
corruption, dust, and worms, full of all man- 
ner of diseases, yet fancying themselves in per- 
fect health. In a word, poor sinners dwell in 
darkness and in the valley of the shadow of 
death. 

THE SUBJECT MATTER OF HIS PROPHECY. 

The word of the Lord, not the word of man. 
The Lord said to Jonah, Arise, go unto Nine- 
veh, that great city, and preach unto it the 
preaching 1 bid thee. And the prophet Mi- 
cah said to the king of IsraePs messengers, As 
the Lord liveth, even what my God saith, that 
will I speak. My preaching, says Paul, was 
not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but 
in demonstration of the Spirit and with power ; 
for Christ sent me to preach the Gospel, not 
with the wisdom of words, lest the cross of 
Christ should be made of none effect. And 
again, We preach not ourselves, but Christ 
Jesus the Lord. 

This word we preach, Christ the power of 
God and the wisdom of God. This was 
the preaching of the apostolic age. It was 
the preaching of the primitive fathers of the 



163 

church; it is Bible preaching. Christ cruci- 
fied is our theme, It is the motto upon our 
banner. It is the beginning, the continuance, 
and the end of all our ministrations. Indeed, 
Christ crucified is the only true foundation of 
all Gospel preaching. 

This word proclaims life from the dead. 
Has man a dead soul? Christ is the resur- 
rection and the life. The voice divine is, 
awake thou that sleepest, and Christ shall 
give thee life. 

This word is also made spirit and life, for 
Christ is a quickening spirit. It comes in 
power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much 
assurance. Is not my word like a fire and a 
hammer, saith the Lord. It breaks the im- 
penitent heart, it enkindles holy ardor in the 
soul. It is quick and powerful, and sharper 
than any two-edged sword, dividing asunder 
soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and is a 
discerner of the thoughts and intents of the 
heart 

This word, like the sword of the cherubim, 
moves every way to guard the tree of life. It 
is a flaming sword to the ungodly, and to the 
christian soldier it is both a guard and a light. 
Like Israel's pillar of fire, it guides him 
through the enemy's country in safety to the 
promised Canaan. 

We preach Christ Here we fix our de- 
termined stand. Here we lay the corner stone 



164 

of our building, and while skeptics are blun- 
dering in the dark, and infidels using their 
blasphemous wits to asperse the doctrines of 
the Gospel, and to tarnish the bright lustre of 
its glorious founder, we will urge our way 
through their opposing ranks, and preach the 
living word of the living God, which has pow- 
er on earth to raise the dead to life. 

Some may be ready to inquire, How can 
these things be? Can these dry bones live? 
We answer: This earth was once without 
form and void, and darkness was upon the 
face of the great deep, and the Spirit of God 
moved upon the waters; and God said, let 
there be light, and there was light; and God 
created the heavens, and the earth, and the 
sea, and all that is therein. 

We ask in return, how were these wonders 
performed? Can we by searching find out 
God? He who hath measured the waters in 
the hollow of his hand, and meted out the hea- 
vens with the span, and comprehended the 
dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed 
the mountains in scales, and the hills in a bal- 
ance; who doeth great things past finding 
out; yea, and wonders without number! Can 
we know how he causes a blade of grass to 
spring from the earth, how the seasons change, 
and suns, and moons, and stars remain fixed, 
or revolve through yonder boundless space? 
Answer who can. 



165 

-" Enwrap creation, travel up 



To the sharp peak of her sublimest height 
And tell us whence the stars, why some are fix'd, 
And planetary some ; what gave them first 
Rotation, from what fountain flowed their light." 

Finally, we preach that same Jesus who 
called forth Lazarus from his grave ; in the 
streets of Nain wrested the prey from the 
mighty ; at whose last groan the earth shook 
to her centre, the sun hid his face, the stars 
refused to shine, the rocks brake in pieces, 
the graves gave up their dead, and by virtue 
of whose name all manner of signs and won- 
ders were wrought by the apostles and others 
in the early ages of Christianity. 

He it is, and him only we preach, who hath 
bowed the heavens and come down — who 
hath plucked up the mountains of our sins that 
stood in his way, and cast them into the 
depths of the sea — who hath sent his hand 
from above and saved us, and delivered us 
out of the great waters; yea, he hath plucked 
us as brands out of the burning. 

And I prophesied as I was commanded. 
Oh, ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord ! 
Awake ! God calls upon you by my mouth — 
by the word of reconciliation — by the trium- 
phant testimony of dying saints — by the pro- 
phets and evangelists, who though dead still 
speak — by the blood of the holy martyrs— -by 
the ashes of the venerable dead — by the 
shades of your pious ministers— by the mise- 



166 

ries of our frail nature — by the joys of the re- 
deemed, and by the sorrows of the lost. 

Spirit of the Lord God move over this val- 
ley of dry bones, and cause bone to come to 
its bone. * * * Ye four winds; breathe upon 
these slain. 

I have a message from God to thee ! Up ! 
get you out of this city — its name is destruc- 
tion! What meanest thou, O sleeper, arise, 
and call upon thy God. 



Daniel, iv. 13, 14. 

I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold, a 
watcher and an holy one came down from heaven ; He cried 
aloud, and said thus, Hew down the tree, and cut off his 
branches, shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit : let 
the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from his 
branches. 

In the history of man, the existence of an 
overruling and controlling providence is mark- 
ed and visible. Its mysterious agency has 
ever been abroad, and its operations, how- 
ever misunderstood by the unenlightened, 
have been conducted on the principles of di- 
vine wisdom and goodness. From compara- 
tive obscurity and insignificance, nations have 
at once emerged, and risen to the pinnacle of 
splendor and dominion. Like the tree figured 
by the prophet's pencil, they have tow 7 ered 
into strength and consequence, and extended 
"heir branches over wide regions ; but sudden- 
ly, in the midst of all their pride, they have 
! een stricken by the retributive lightnings of 



168 

heaven, and have been prostrated by the ter- 
rible concussion. 

The fall of Babylon, the queen of cities, is 
a striking illustration of the doctrine of divine 
providence. She had filled up the measure of 
her iniquities; her overthrow was certain, and 
the execution of a just judgment only awaited 
the signal of him who held the helm and con- 
ducted the movements of all worlds. But his 
long suffering kindness prevented the stroke 
of vengeance. She was to receive another 
solemn lesson from the Almighty in the pun- 
ishment of the great, the victorious Nebuchad- 
nezzar before the thunder of his arm smote 
her to the dust. 

Various and complicated are the means 
by which a gracious previdenee calls man- 
kind to a sense of their danger, while they 
are knowingly violating the lawful commands 
of God, and trampling upon his authority. 
Moses was startled by the appearance of a 
bush in flames, and yet unconsumed. The 
Jewish nation, at Sinai's base, trembled ex- 
ceedingly while its summit was covered with 
the terribleness and majesty ofGod. Balaam 
was arrested by an angel with a drawn sword ; 
and here, a vision of the night troubled and 
alarmed a mighty king, even while surrounded 
by his imperial guard. The decorations of a 
gorgeous palace ceased to charm, neither 



169 

could the sleepless monarch be lulled to rest 
by the dulcet sounds of the harp and lute. 

Daniel applied the interpretation of this vi- 
sion to Nebuchadnezzar, and declared that 
the lofty tree was a representation of the sta- 
bility of his throne, the greatness and extent 
of his power, and faithfully warned him of 
an approaching and desolating tempest — to 
which no earthly power could bid defiance. 

/ saw and behold a tree in ike midst of the 
earth, and the height thereof was great Prin- 
ces, great men, and nations, are frequently re- 
presented in Scripture under the metaphor of 
fair and flourishing trees: — Behold, the Assy- 
rian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branch- 
es, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an 
high stature ; and his top was among the thick 
boughs. The waters made him great, the 
deep set him up on high with her rivers run- 
ning round about his plants, and sent out her 
little rivers unto all the trees of the field.— 
Therefore his height was exalted above all 
the trees of the field, and his boughs were 
multiplied, and his branches became long be- 
cause of the multitude of waters when he shot 
forth. All the fowls of heaven made their 
nests in his boughs, and under his branches 
did all the beasts of the field bring forth their 
young, and under his shadow dwelt all great 
nations. Thus was he fair in his greatness, 
in the length of his branches: for his root was 

15 



170 

by great waters. The cedars in the garden 
of God could not hide him: the fir trees were 
not like his boughs, and the chesnut trees 
were not like his branches ; nor any tree in 
the garden of God was like unto him in his 
beauty. I have made him fair by the multi- 
tude of his branches; so that all the trees of 
Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied 
him. 

Nebuchadnezzar was universally celebrated 
r i his wars and victories. The spoils of van- 
q Ished nations adorned his triumphal char- 
iot, and the laurel of glory bloomed upon his 
brow. He held his brilliant court in Babylon 
— a city beautified and adorned with a variety 
of costly and stupendous w r orks. It measured 
forty-five miles in circumference, its walls were 
fifty cubits high, and their width was so great 
that six chariots might drive abreast upon 
their summits. It was situated on the Eu- 
phrates, was divided by a branch of that ma- 
jestic river, over which a bridge was thrown, 
a furlong in length, at each end of which a 
magnificent palace rose to the view, glittering 
with gold and precious stones. But these 
were not its chief embellishments — nor was 
Babylon considered one of the wonders of the 
world, till its hundred brazen gates were set 
up, and the towers of Belus reared their im- 
pious turrets to the clouds, and Nebuchadnez- 
zar's noble palace was erected, and the lofty 



171 

hanging gardens caught the astonished sight. 
And now, after all his toils, he sat himself 
down in sumptuous ease, having shot up into 
the zenith of this world's grandeur, flourish- 
ing in health of body and vigor of soul, crown- 
ed with glory, and affluence, and having no 
enemy able to interrupt his repose. Thus, 
when he seemed most secure, an unseen hand 
fell heavily upon him; the cup of felicity is 
dashed from his lips, and all his joys are, in 
moment, blasted. A simple dream fills him 
with terror and dismay. So easily can God 
disturb the man of pleasure, whose ambitious 
projects are bearing the flowers of hope and 
promise, and, in a moment, in the twinkling of 
an eye, overwhelm him with the besom of de- 
struction. 

Behold a watcher and a holy one came 
down from heaven. These words refer to the 
attendance of the evangelical orders on God's 
throne, to execute the commands of the Most 
High. Hence the title of the eyes of the Lord 
which has been applied to them. They exhi- 
bit the superintending providence of God, en- 
tering into the circumstances of life, and ta- 
king cognizance of the affairs of men. 

He cried aloud. When the Almighty pro- 
nounces judgment, whether against nations or 
individuals, it is announced with accompany- 
ing manifestations expressive of the divine in- 



172 

dignation. There is a crier sent forth. His 
voice is heard above the thunder, nor can the 
noise of many waters drown its unearthly ut- 
terance. His anathemas echo along the hills. 
His invisible tread convulseth the earth ; the 
stoutest hearts are appalled, the haughty and 
the stubborn are bent, and broken under his 
maledictory sentence. 

He cried almm and said thus, Hew down 
the tree, and cut off his branches, shake off 
his leaves, and scatter his fruit. The sen- 
tence and the execution are almost simulta- 
neous. The Almighty seldom delays, for any 
considerable length of time, the stroke of retri- 
bution, more especially when the culprit has 
had sufficient time and opportunity for repen- 
tance. In this instance, the sentence scarcely 
issues from the mouth of God, ere the victim 
feels the blow, and is seen writhing in the ago- 
nizing throes of a sudden and unexpected 
judgment. 

Nebuchadnezzar, having attained the sum- 
mit of his proudest hopes, and taken his stand- 
ing on an eminence conspicuous above the 
surrounding nations, approached the fatal li- 
mit. Like a field ripe for the sickle, his arro- 
gance and pride had eminently prepared him 
for sudden destruction. He had impiously at- 
tributed his success and prosperity, the famous 
monuments he had erected to perpetuate his 



173 

name and the memory of his warlike achieve- 
ments, and the acquisition of his untold trea- 
sures, wholly to his own wisdom and power, 
independent of any higher aid or divine inter- 
ference. How egregiously he insults the hea- 
vens in the proud soliloquy which he uttered 
while walking in his palace. Is not this great 
Babylon which I have built for the house of 
my kingdom, and by the might of my power 
and for the honor of my majesty! But hark ! 
a voice from God's throne peals in his ears, 
hew down the tree. 

He is hurled from his dazzling height- 
stripped of his royal robes — banished from the 
society of men, and doomed to herd with the 
beasts that perish, eat the grass of the field, 
and tent under the dews of heaven. One blast 
of God's displeasure hath wrought this horri- 
ble ruin ! — So vain, so transitory are all the 
treasures of worldly accumulation, and the 
pomp and circumstance of princely aggrand- 
izement. 

This subject is full of instruction. It incul- 
cates several important and useful lessons. 

There are no stations in life, however ele- 
vated and enviable, beyond the influence of 
storm and tempest. There is nothing stable, 
certain, or of long continuance here. The 
mountain of our prosperity is doomed to be 
shaken. Though we should hope for a per- 

15* 



174 

petuation of earthly felicities with the most 
intense desire; and wisely, and diligently, pro- 
vide against the ills of life, yet would the tide 
of joy be checked in its course, and our vain 
expectations be disappointed. Indeed, the 
elevated and seemingly secure may be consid- 
ered in the greatest danger. The lightning 
always strikes the objects it first encounters; 
it spends its force upon the proud and the as- 
piring, and but seldom harms the unassuming 
and the lowly. He who grasps the world with 
the strongest arm, and clings to its excite- 
ments and pleasures with the greatest ardor, 
should never feel secure. But few, compara- 
tively, who have attained the summit of their 
wishes, retain their standing beyond a given 
point, more especially if they have attempted, 
like Nebuchadnezzar, to assume a responsi- 
bility independent of that Great Being who 
presides over their destiny, and always pun- 
ishes severely the least encroachment upon 
his authority and power. 

Let us, then, be guarded, lest prosperity 
prove our ruin. The hour of calm should be 
the hour of preparation, of activity and wake- 
fulness. Experience and revelation unite in 
testifying to this truth. We are daily called 
to be on. the alert, to watch and pray, for at 
such an hour as we think not, we may be 
stricken down by the commissioned bolt, and 
ruined irrecoverably. 



175 

A watcher — a holy one is at the helm. He 
moves unperceived in the splendors of mid- 
day; the most impalpable veils are pierced 
by his all-pervading presence; the bright 
places of the earth are full of him, and the 
mirrored heavens reflect his glory; regions 
deserted and unlovely are animated by his 
voice, and the deepest caverns of the earth 
echo forth his praise. His hand is on the 
everlasting hills, and his breath is in all living 
things. The affairs of providence are under 
his control. His noiseless step accompanies 
us through every avenue of life, and never 
tires. He is about our path, and about our 
bed, and spieth out all our ways. Our most 
secret thoughts he scans; every word we speak 
is noted down in the book of his remembrance. 
He watches our motives, marks our actions, 
and pities our infirmities. He is ever with us, 
and ever ready and able to detect and pun- 
ish us. 



"How careful then ought we to live 
With what religious fear I" 



This holy one has the prerogative of weigh- 
ing us in the balances of the sanctuary, of 
counting our sands, and severing the brittle 
thread of life. His decree cannot be repealed. 
When he hath said the word, the condemned 
and sentenced must yield . 



176 

Let us contemplate the destruction of him 
over whom the watcher and holy one have 
pronounced the sentence of condemnation. 

The axe is laid to the root of the tree, and 
those fibres that so tenderly interlace each 
other, and beautifully depict the fond endear- 
ments of life, and the close fellowship they 
have with our best feelings, and fondest hopes, 
are torn asunder by its cruel strokes and left 
exposed, and bare, and lifeless, to the rude 
gaze of every beholder. His branches are cut 
off — those luxuriant boughs which constituted 
his chief strength and beauty— he is stripped 
of his leaves, his ornaments and pride. They 
fall yellow and sear to mingle with the clods 
of the valley — his scattered fruit are trampled 
upon like the mildewed produce of a blasted 
vineyard. 

Behold Napoleon, who once rode buoyant 
and fearless, on the wave of glory — whose gi- 
gantic schemes filled continental Europe with 
astonishment and dismay, and at the touch of 
whose political wand nations crumbled into 
ruins, and thrones were shaken to their foun- 
dations. Where now is this great man! — 
Where abide th this terror of kings, and of na- 
tions? Behold! his ashes sleep at the thresh- 
old of a cottage, upon a rock, which is but a 
speck in the mighty deep. 

There is a warning voice out among men; 



177 

it is heard amid the roar of mirth, and in the 
bustle and hum of business, it falls with an 
appalling distinctness upon the soul. In the 
still hour of night and of solitude, it utters 
sounds of terror and alarm; it is never silent; 
it slumbers not; it is echoed from the house of 
mourning and from the vaults of the dead — 
from the pulpit, and from the records of the 
past. Time in his rapid flight gives assent to 
its solemn, weighty appeals, and the secret re- 
cesses of every heart, reverberate the serious 
calls it so repeatedly gives. Thus a good 
God calls to his aid auxiliaries from every 
quarter, and sends them forth to press upon 
the subjects of his moral government the coun- 
sels of heaven, that they may escape the 
dreadful judgments denounced against the im- 
penitent. 

Finally — we may be one day safely moored 
in the harbor of life, with our streamers gaily 
kissing the breezes of prosperity — and, the 
next, torn from our moorings, and driven out 
on the mountain surges of a dark and frightful 
sea. One hour, in the bosom of peace and se- 
curity — and the next, torn from friends, from 
home, and happiness, to roam unsheltered on 
the pathless deeps of an unexplored ocean. 
Now — slumbering on the lap of ease, and now 
— awake to the terrors of a guilty conscience, 
covered with shame, and shuddering with hor- 



178 

ror over a gulf that has swallowed up our 
hopes, and yawns to receive us, while the 
watcher and the holy one are ready to pro- 
nounce the fatal words — arise, let us go hence. 
Hew down the tree, and cut off his branch- 
es, shake off his leaves, and scatter his 
fruit. 



THE END. 



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